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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398704">Why Did Heaven Ever Let You Fall?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HILULUITSEMILY/pseuds/HILULUITSEMILY'>HILULUITSEMILY</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Awkward flirting???, Character Death, Couch Cuddles, Crossover, Edom (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Episode: s01e12 Malec - Wedding Scene, F/M, Five x Original Character, Flirting, Fluff, Hell (Shadowhunters), Just giving Fivey all the love he desevres, Just lots of cuddles in general, M/M, Malec, Maybe a few too many near death experiences, Number Five - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Shadowhunter Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter Magnus Bane, Shadowhunters - All media types, Song Lyrics, Temporary Character Death, The Umbrella Academy (TV) Spoilers, Umbrella Academy - Freeform, pls read the disclaimers thank you, struggles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:47:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>68,653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HILULUITSEMILY/pseuds/HILULUITSEMILY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus Bane's adoptive daughter April, a demon armed with magic beyond her control, and an agent at the Temps Commission is introduced to a just as emotionally stunted Five Hargreeves. After years of isolation and inexperience around the word 'love', along with an impending apocalypse, what could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alec Lightwood &amp; Max Lightwood-Bane, Magnus Bane &amp; Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane &amp; Max Lightwood-Bane, Magnus Bane &amp; Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Overtrained</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey leave me and my oddly specific AU that means oh so much to me alone. It's my lil world I'm making here if you don't like what happens then simply don't read it. Yeah, it's that easy! I'm writing about this AU first and foremost for me, because my tiny little brain can't maintain all of the twists and turns that said AU brings. I also wanted to share some of my writing with the world for once because I never have and I just wanna see how it goes. This is also an excuse to give Five all of the tonnes and tonnes of love he so badly desperately deserves. </p><p>This as been a psa.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After a full on afternoon in which Magnus saw it fit to push her a little over the edge in her training, April is introduced to a new work partner.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A smol disclaimer from me before ya read:<br/>Hey leave me and my oddly specific AU that means oh so much to me alone. It's my lil world I'm making here if you don't like what happens then simply don't read it. Yeah, it's that easy! I'm writing about this AU first and foremost for me, because my tiny little brain can't maintain all of the twists and turns that said AU brings. I also wanted to share some of my writing with the world for once because I never have and I just wanna see how it goes. This is also an excuse to give Five all of the tonnes and tonnes of love he so badly desperately deserves.</p><p>This as been a psa.</p><p>Enjoy the fic! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>April loved that cathedral window, the one that she laid her eyes on before every round of training. She loved when the sun would cast ribbons of light onto the polished gym floor, and put floating specks of dust on display, as if under a spotlight performing a dance. Those ribbons of light were never subjected to that heavenly golden tone, the stained glass would allow for beams of red, blue and green to adorn the floor with gradually shifting and flickering patterns, all for those specks of dust to bask in for the day. April loved to watch how the dust moved so fluid-like. It grounded her, putting her mind at ease before going full-throttle once again. The dust inspired her movement, her ability to move so gracefully, without colliding into obstacles and still perform her magic just as she intended to. As for grounding her, watching the dust flicker in and out of view with those ribbons of sunlight, looking up and having her eyes set on one tiny iota of unidentifiable material, until her inflamed emotions ceased, only to be amassed once again. And she would keep on staring, right up until the rest of the world started to slip in again. As if someone was turning up the volume, the voices steadily faded in.</p><p>“Alright. Let’s try that again.”<br/>
April tore her eyes away from the window and turned to her father, Magnus, who was making his way into the middle of the room, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he went. April hesitated, but then decided it was best not to complain. A day without a mission meant putting a little extra effort into training and today Magnus wasn’t showing a lot of mercy.<br/>
Despite her decision to avoid arguing, April couldn’t help but ask.<br/>
“I thought I did fine that time.”<br/>
“You did, for the most part. But I could see your focus dwindling, so I want you to give it another shot.” Magnus paused, then quickly added “please.”<br/>
“Alright. It’s not like I haven’t been doing this for a good 200 years.” April adjusted her stance, ready to take on whatever Magnus was going to throw at her.<br/>
“I get that,” Magnus said, whirling some faint blue wisps of magic between his fingers, “but the better you become at it, the more effective you will be out on the field.”<br/>
April heaved a disgruntled sigh. “You know I don’t want to be out there doing that.”<br/>
“I do know that. And between you and me, I don’t want you to be out there most of the time either. In fact, the boss probably knows that herself.”<br/>
“It’s not like you try to make it blatantly obvious.” April rolled her eyes.<br/>
“Enough with the tongue. Anyway, the partnership the Commission and the Institute have is getting me good money, and doing the shadowhunters a lot of favours.”<br/>
“As if you needed any more money, come on, Dad.” April gave Magnus an almost pleading expression. Magnus merely replied with a disapproving look, and the magic he was producing increased. April sighed once more before laying her eyes on the whirl of blue magic Magnus held, whilst forming bright orange flames of her own.<br/>
“Try not to break eye contact.” Magnus said before morphing his magic into the form of a sphere, appearing around the same size as the great circular stained glass window behind him, which he then hurled at full-force towards April.<br/>
Flames rose from April’s outstretched hands, which she then used to encase the magic Magnus had thrown at her. The sphere hovered in the air, flames licking it from every angle. April screwed her face up in concentration, her eyes began to flicker to a bright shade of orange, and within her mouth she felt her canine teeth extend into fangs. From the other end of the gym, Magnus was still applying force, his arms stretched out in front of him, bright blue flashes streaking from his fingertips. Despite what appeared to be his best efforts, April still had the upper hand. The sphere was shifting from a blue to a green, and it began to produce more flames than wisps. </p><p>Ignoring her father’s words, April withdrew her gaze from the mass of colliding magic before her, and instead focused it on the cathedral window, where the last rays of sunlight still hung in the sky, and they still cast their colourful beams into the gym, and still those tiny specks of dust drifted amongst it. She watched how the dust was moving, so smooth and flawlessly, oh how enchanting and mesmerising it was to watch. A certain someone would go as far as to say it was distracting. This certain someone noticed April’s rapt attention on the window above, and sent an extra blast of magic towards her, tripping her up, and causing the magic between her and Magnus to burst into thin air. April landed on the ground hard on her knees, caught completely by surprise. Magnus looked down at April, slightly disappointed.<br/>
“What did I say about keeping eye contact?”<br/>
April groaned angrily. “Dad, please, I’m tired-”<br/>
“After doing nothing all day?”<br/>
“I was babysitting Max all day. It’s exhausting.” April only hoped that Magnus would understand that keeping an eye on a warlock-toddler was indeed tiring, especially after spending an hour and a half flying around the house as a bat. She looked at Magnus with imploring eyes.<br/>
“Once more. And I want you to get it right this time. I know you can, sweetie.” he smiled down at April, who returned the smile with half the effort. She got to feet and told herself she might as well give it all she’s got, then she would be free to do what she wanted for the night, which she had already planned was to sleep, and do as much of it as she could. </p><p>This time, Magnus sent numerous swirling beams of magic towards her, which April reached and grabbed onto with bare hands, and tossed them into the air. Whilst airborne, they faded faultlessly into glowing orange flames, which then began to multiply and circle around her. Magnus sent blow after blow of his magic, which April converted into her own with ease. The amount of flames that surrounded her grew and grew, and she felt more awake than she had been all day.<br/>
“Alright are you ready?!” Magnus called over the roar of the flames that were now beginning to fill the gym. April felt her confidence build up inside her, and she gave her father a fanged grin. And with that, Magnus conjured a mass of magic very similar to before, and when it collided with April, it caused her to stumble. She put every ounce of strength she had left into it, forcing every flame she had at her sides to push against this foreign magic, and eventually merge into it.</p><p>Magnus stepped away from where he stood and observed April’s movements from the side. The gym was nearly half-filled with flames, and although they didn’t burn anything, it would be a horrifying sight to anyone who had no idea what was going on. But the shadowhunters that occupied the New York Institute knew well enough what was going on, and the risk that it could sometimes pose to them. This time, there was no threat, no matter how much it looked like there was one. </p><p>When April felt the mass of magic reduce, and her own magic was gathering in strength, she saw Magnus flick his wrist out of the corner of her eye, and immediately felt another immense mass of pressure added onto her. Fire was streaking from her sweating hands, flowing over her head and from her sides, and slowly the mass of blue faded into a green. April could feel sweat running down the sides of her face, and her muscles were beginning to ache, just how they always did when Magnus over-trained her. Her feet started to slide backwards, but she continued anyway, still forcing hordes of fire onto Magnus’ stubborn blue mass.<br/>
“Dad! How strong did you make this?!” April shouted. For a brief moment she turned her head away and instead looked to Magnus.<br/>
“You’ve done this before, April, you’re doing well! Keep your eyes on what’s in front of you!” Magnus gestured towards the mass of flames, and April looked back just in time to see a beam of green magic soar from the mass and head towards April from another side. She was quick to react, now sending flames in two directions. She closed her eyes, trying to shut off distractions and focus purely on the task at hand. Somewhere, far off in the distance, she heard Magnus.<br/>
“You’re almost there, focus!”<br/>
<i>”I am, Dad. I am!”</i> April shouted, but the words only echoed in her head, and instead all she could muster was a shout of agony. A whole afternoon of training and Magnus thought it would be fine to finish off with an immense amount of pressure. April begged to differ.</p><p>For a moment she thought she was making it up. For a moment her own head was playing tricks on her as she stood there working every muscle in her body just to stay afoot. But then she made a risky decision to tone down her magic, just a little bit, just so she could hear what was going on beyond the gym, and hope that it wasn’t her employer on her way to criticize her. Alas, it was the one voice she had been hoping not to hear.</p><p>“-the partnership with the Institute not only offers us highly-skilled shadowhunters, but we are also lucky to have employed one of the single-most proficient warlocks in history. And it doesn’t stop there, we also have the pleasure of employing his daughter, who is demonic both by blood and by nature, and is labelled as one of the most dangerous beings not just on earth, but in any dimension that she sets foot into. And here they are in the gym.”</p><p>There was a pause, in which April heard the unpleasant and familiar click of high heels against the floor. It was then followed by a horrid scratching sound, and the same voice she had heard before could be heard loud and clear over an intercom.</p><p>“Magnus, can I have a word with you, please?”</p><p>April could only imagine that it was something to do with her performance on the field, as it was a frequent occurrence whilst she was training. Magnus turned and headed for the end of the gym lined with windows. He opened the sliding door a fraction, then looked back at April.<br/>
“April, you’re losing focus! Come on honey you’re almost there! Give it all you’ve got!” he sounded almost demanding, which April didn’t blame him for, because after a short glance at the window, she could see the Handler, looking right into the gym at her. April couldn’t distinguish whether there was another figure next to her, because at the sight of her boss, April made sure to block her view with a thick mass of flames. </p><p>“Perfect, she’s here right when I’m at my worst.” April growled, and she looked to the two masses of green she was still fighting. At least they were green. They had now shifted to a bright yellow, and that sight seemed to better her mood. She was going to finish this, but whether her aching body would let her, only the following seconds could tell. </p><p>April started to move her hands closer together, in the hopes that she could bring the two yellow masses together, and from then it would be a nice and easy finish, but the faint sound of the sliding door opening and the warlock poking his head into the gym seemed to think otherwise.<br/>
“ALRIGHT APRIL PACK IT UP!” Magnus called.<br/>
April had to fast-track her perfect finish, the one thing Magnus was looking for the whole time, but now it didn’t seem to matter. She formulated a plan in her head, and she knew that one of two things was going to happen, and they would both end painfully. She gulped in air while she still could, then in one intense sweeping motion, and with a loud, pained shout, she brought her hands together.</p><p>There was a deafening crash, and every wisp of magic exploded from view. April was thrown backwards, and fell to the floor. For the first time in what felt like a very good while, the gym was silent, and looked as if nothing had ever happened to it. Not a single shadowhunter beyond the gym appeared to acknowledge what had just happened, because such explosions were so frequent.<br/>
April lay on the floor, breathing fast but deep breaths. Her eyes faded back to brown, and she felt her fangs retract to their normal size. Every part of her body ached like it always had, but something about it just made it stand out to her this time. It wasn’t like the amount of pressure was any different, it wasn’t the first time the Handler had come to watch her ‘most precious asset to the Commission’ train. She lifted her head to a slight extent, and looked to the cathedral window. The sun had hidden away behind other skyscrapers, and those specks of dust could no longer be seen. So instead she looked up at the ceiling towering above her, but it didn’t bring nearly as much calm as looking at sunlight did.<br/>
“A messy finish, but otherwise very good.” Magnus said. “You need to work on staying on your feet.”<br/>
“Save your criticism,” April said weakly, lifting a shaking hand, “I’ll hear all about it tomorrow anyway, I presume.”<br/>
“You probably will.” Magnus said, now completely standing in the gym. “Get up, please. The Handler is waiting for you.”<br/>
April got to her feet with difficulty, and staggered across the gym towards Magnus.<br/>
“Can’t she just piss off until tomorrow morning?” April made sure she spoke loud enough for the Handler to hear.<br/>
“Apparently not.” Magnus said. There was a tone of almost disappointment in his voice.<br/>
April groaned in annoyance and walked out of the gym. Standing just outside the door was the Handler, in her usual attire of a black dress and crimson heels. She greeted April with a wide smile, which wasn’t returned.<br/>
“That was rather impressive work back there, April.” The Handler said in her all-too cheery voice. “You must be exhausted?”<br/>
“I can barely stand.” April said bluntly. She leaned back against the window for support. “Can I help you with something? Or am I free to go to bed?” she crossed her arms impatiently.<br/>
The Handler grinned. That grin never seemed to lead to good things for April.<br/>
“I want you to meet our newest recruit, Number Five.” she gestured towards the person standing next to her, a boy who looked no older than 13 or 14. His hair was a dark brown, and his eyes dark green. He wore a dark grey blazer over top of a white button up shirt and black tie, with trouser shorts of a similar dark grey, and an expression of almost utter distaste. April didn’t blame him for it. Afterall, he was standing next to the Handler, of all people. He muttered a quick “hi”, and April smiled back. Somehow, she found that she wasn’t forcing that smile, it was genuine. She looked back to the Handler.<br/>
“Your father and I thought it would be ideal that you two became partners for missions.” the Handler said. April opened her mouth to comment but the Handler spoke again.<br/>
“-Not simply because of your appearances, of course. We figured that seeing as you both are highly-skilled, you would work effectively together in completing missions. You both also have quite the aptitude for snarky and almost tyrannical comments.”<br/>
April sniggered, to which Magnus responded with a nudge on her shoulder. “Nice to know I’m not the only one that has a certain opinion.” which led Handler to giving April a disapproving face. Out of the corner of her eye, April swore she saw Number Five suppress a laugh.<br/>
“Alright, whatever.” April said, shrugging. Being assigned an apparently skilled partner didn’t faze her, and it was even better knowing that he shared the same amount of dislike towards their employer.<br/>
“We’ve also arranged that Mr Five will be accommodated with you and your father in your penthouse.”<br/>
April nodded. She couldn’t care less about where her partner was staying, all she wanted to do was get home and unwind. As she straightened up from leaning on the window, her legs gave a terrifying ache.<br/>
“Is that all?” April said with a pained tone. “I don’t know if you can tell, but I may just pass out if I don’t get to a couch some time soon-”<br/>
“That’s all.” the Handler said plainly. “Expect a first mission together in two days time.” and with that, she turned and walked away. Number Five still hadn’t spoken a word since saying hello, he was busy looking around at the Institute. Magnus closed the door to the gym and turned to April.<br/>
“You two can go on home, and I’ll be back with Alec later.”<br/>
April nodded again, and watched as Magnus walked up to a brunette shadowhunter nearby, and planted a kiss on his cheek.<br/>
“Oh and one more thing! He called back to April, “The Chairman may ask to be fed, but be aware that I already have, and he’s just being greedy.”</p><p>April gestured for Number Five to follow her.<br/>
“C’mon. Let’s get out of here.” she said. Number Five joined her at her side, and they made their way through the Institute, out the great front doors and onto one of New York’s numerous busy streets. The sun had almost completely set, and when April looked up to the sky, she could already see some stars winking down at her. As they waited to cross the street, April turned to Number Five, who she had seen flinch a little once exposed to the resounding noises of New York city.<br/>
“I just want to say,” she said, elevating her voice over the rush of traffic. “I’m sorry if I’m short tempered with you this evening. I’m not usually like this after training.”<br/>
“It’s fine.” Number Five replied. “Trust me I know exactly how you feel.”<br/>
“Really?” April said, perplexed. “No one I ever talk to ever does.”<br/>
The two of them crossed the road, and made their way into an apartment building almost directly opposite to the Institute. April was relieved to have made it to the elevator, where she could finally lean against a wall. After pushing the very top button, she leaned back against the wall and heaved a shaky sigh. Number Five, despite looking a little shaken, turned to her with fragmentary concern.<br/>
“Are you sure you’re okay?”<br/>
“Most definitely not.” April said with certainty. This didn’t seem to ease any of Number Five’s nerves.<br/>
“Maybe you should see a doctor?”<br/>
April suppressed a laugh. “What’s a mundane doctor gonna do? Give me pain meds? Not a chance.”<br/>
The elevator doors opened and April limped out, with Number Five following her. They passed the only door in the hallway, and continued up a single flight of stairs, opening out onto an identical hallway with a single door. April flicked her wrist and the door before her unlocked and opened.</p><p>“This is home.” April said, trying to sound enthusiastic, and failing. She stepped aside to reveal to Number Five his accommodation. An open-plan living space with a small kitchen, and a doorway leading off to a hallway. Accompanying all of the things anyone would find in a penthouse apartment furniture-wise, there were cat towers against the walls, with bridges and ramps that appeared to snake off into other rooms. And to add to all of that, the floor was littered with baby toys, most of which were themed around dinosaurs. At the sight of the mess, April groaned.<br/>
“Ugh, my god I am so sorry. My little brother spends most of his time up here.”<br/>
“It’s fine.” Number Five said quietly. “I haven’t set foot into a house in a long time.”<br/>
“Really?” April gave Number Five a quizzical look. She opened her mouth to further question him but she was interrupted by a crash from another room.<br/>
“Oh no.” April groaned again. She didn’t try to cover up how annoyed she was becoming. “You can sit down if you want, this is your home for the time being, afterall.” she gestured to the couch, and limped across the room as fast as she could towards the hallway.<br/>
“MAX! Come out here please!”<br/>
Maybe yelling wasn’t the best choice, in terms of the aches and pains she was already experiencing. April slumped against the wall once again, and listened to the approaching sound of small feet against the wooden floor. Soon enough, a toddler of about 2 years old appeared at April’s feet. The toddler looked nothing like one you’d find wandering around New York with their parents, maybe going to the zoo or something else mundane like that. This toddler had azure blue skin, accompanied with curly blue hair, and tiny horns protruding from his head. As per usual, he wore triceratops-footie pyjamas, complete with a hood. At the sight of his older sister, his face lit up.<br/>
“Apwil!” Max shouted, as he stumbled forwards and gave April’s legs a hug.<br/>
“Yeah, hello you rascal. Ouch, my god.” April lifted Max into her arms, another act of instant regret.<br/>
Max started to mumble unintelligible words as April carried him across the room, and towards the front door. Number Five had taken off his blazer and made himself comfortable in an armchair, and for a moment April had figured he had gone to sleep, but after Max loudly shouted “Fwend!” and brought him back to his senses with a jerk, she had realised he was simply relishing in the feeling of relaxing in an armchair, as if he had never even touched one.<br/>
“Who that? Bwotha?” Max pointed a chubby blue finger in Number Five’s direction. Number Five had an uneasy expression towards little Max, who goggled at him like he had never seen anything like him before.<br/>
“He’s a work partner, Max.” April said, opening the front door. “Now, be good and go downstairs. Is Maryse down there?”<br/>
Max nodded his tiny head.<br/>
“Good. Daddy and Papa will be home soon, okay? Just stay downstairs, please.” April placed Max on the ground. One he was free from April’s grasp, Max ran down the hall shouting, “bye Apwil!” until he reached the bottom of the stairs. </p><p>When April was sure that Max had made it into the level below, April closed the door and heaved yet another sigh. She limped over to the nearest couch and collapsed onto it, flicking her wrist as she went, making every single toy in sight to fall neatly into a box at the other end of the room. The softness of the couch felt almost too good to be true, so good that some of her pain seemed to melt away. April propped her head up on a pillow and looked to Number Five.<br/>
“So, Number Five, where did you come from?”<br/>
“Just call me Five.” He said, “would you believe me if I told you?”<br/>
“You already know Hell exists.” April raised her hands slightly for emphasis. “So I’m sure wherever you’ve been will be just as believable.”<br/>
“Fair point.” Five said, shrugging. He sighed and looked to his feet. “I was uh- I was stuck at the end of the world.”<br/>
“Holy shit, for how long?” April sat up a little too quickly, resulting in a surge of pain through her core. She winced.<br/>
“Forty five years.” Five said, looking up to meet her eyes. “Give or take.”<br/>
“My god- Wait how old are you?”<br/>
“Uh, believe it or not, 57. I think I must have stuffed something up when I jumped. Because I haven’t aged a bit and, I couldn’t get back home.”<br/>
“So you’re saying you can time travel unaided?” April looked at Five in awe.<br/>
Five nodded. “And spatial jumps.”<br/>
“But you’re not a warlock?”<br/>
“No.”<br/>
“Never heard of that before.” April stood up, her legs shook, making her almost fall over. “And for the record, I’m 247, my body froze at 14. Which is a pity because I wanted to stop ageing in my twenties at least. But I thought I’d mention it so you can be assured you’re not working alongside a child, that’d be awkward.” she limped across the room and into the kitchen. “But I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel.”<br/>
“Trapped. To say the least.” Five said. Though it appeared as though he didn’t want to, Five followed April into the kitchen. When he entered, April was digging around in the fridge.<br/>
“Did the Handler give you anything when you got here?” she asked.<br/>
“No.” Five said, leaning against the counter. “The last thing I ate was these cockroaches I found-”<br/>
“What’s your preferred sandwich filling?” April interrupted.<br/>
“Uh- peanut butter. With marshmallows, too. Only if you have them of co-”<br/>
April snapped her fingers and a plate holding two peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches materialised on the counter in front of Five. She drew a carton of chocolate milk from the fridge and half-slammed it shut. When she had retrieved a glass and turned around, she found Five simply staring at the sandwiches.<br/>
“You can eat them, you know.” April gestured to the plate.<br/>
“I-I know.” Five said, he prodded one of the sandwiches with a small air of what appeared to be caution. “I just haven’t seen or uh- eaten them in such a long time…”<br/>
April thought for a moment that Five was forgetting how to function right in front of her. He continued to poke the sandwiches, still deciphering whether they were real or not. She nudged the plate closer.<br/>
“I may have just met you, and I may merely know where you’ve come from, but I feel that I know you well enough to care about the fact that you haven’t had solid food in a <i>very</i> long time. So eat.” she tried to sound as nice as possible, without trying to give Five the option of not eating. She wanted to show that she did in fact care to some degree about her work partner, and wasn’t dismissive towards him like she is to her employer. Five sighed and looked up from his food.<br/>
“You’re wrong on one account. I had a twinkie back in the apocalypse. And as bad as it tasted it still counts as solid foo-”<br/>
“Quit stalling.” April rested her elbows on the counter. “You are a grown man, just eat. I know you can do it, Five.”<br/>
“I just- I don’t know how to handle this!” Five exclaimed, “It’s too good to be true! Everything’s happened so fast today and-and all of a sudden I’ve been given, <i>real</i> food.” there was an almost pained-looking expression on his face. April knew full well that she would never be able to fully understand what he had been through. Trying to put herself in his shoes would never completely work, but she was willing to try her best to recognize what he had been through, for the sake of better understanding her new work partner, who now had his head in his hands.<br/>
“Okay Five.” April said, “How about we do this,” she flicked her wrist and yet another peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich materialised, this time in her outstretched hand. “We’ll eat together.”<br/>
Five looked up at April. “You’re awfully caring for someone that looked as if she was ready to kill a few minutes ago.”<br/>
“That’s funny.” April said, grinning. “I’m always ready to kill when a certain asshole employer walks into the room.”<br/>
Five shrugged. “That’s fair.”<br/>
“Trust me, you’ll probably feel the same way as time passes. And now that I think about it I probably didn’t make the greatest first impression on you. But that’s no matter. Now, you’re going to eat something.”<br/>
Five sighed heavily. “I just- it’s right there in front of me but- it doesn’t feel like it. I just- ugh what are words? I feel so stupid…” he stepped backwards from the counter, now trying to avoid eye contact with April, who despite not fully understanding how Five felt, still suddenly uttered “It’s not stupid.”</p><p>Five thrusted his hands into the pockets of his shorts and looked at the floor.<br/>
“It certainly feels like it.”<br/>
“Well I uh, I don’t blame you.” April replied. “I guess it’s overwhelming coming back from a place that had nothing, then being thrusted into a society where you’re offered decent food. Food specifically catered to you, might I add.”<br/>
Five continued to stare at the floor.<br/>
“I’m not trying to force feed you or anything like that, and I don’t mean to overwhelm you. I just think it would be good for you if you ate something, even if it’s just one bite, it’s better than not eating at all.” April picked up one of the sandwiches from the plate and held it out to Five, who looked at it for a moment, then stepped over to the counter and took it. April grinned.<br/>
“We’ll take a bite on the count of three. How does that sound?”<br/>
Five nodded. He eyed the sandwich with such awe, yet there was also a miniscule hint of fear, as if he was encountering it for the first time all over again.<br/>
April went to speak once again, but was interrupted by a minute squeak, followed by the appearance of a petite grey cat on the countertop. Five made a small jump backwards. The cat continued to squeak as it walked all over the counter, pausing to smell Five’s sandwich that still resided on the plate. April swiftly scooped up the cat with her free hand and placed it on her shoulder.<br/>
“This is Chairman Meow. Sorry if he startled you.” April said.<br/>
“It’s fine.” Five said.<br/>
“He’s the reason I have so many cat towers around, and he’s not even mine. He’s dad’s.”<br/>
“He’s kinda cute.” Five admitted. “Is he some kind of magic cat?”<br/>
“No. But dad made him immortal unintentionally.” April said as she untangled Chairman from her hair. “Dad stole him from the high warlock Lima. And now we’re banned from Peru.”<br/>
Five looked perplexed.<br/>
“It’s not important, anyway. But what is, is you eating something. You’re not living off roaches forever.”<br/>
“I know that.” Five sounded almost annoyed, “but you’re right. I guess I’m just overwhelmed.”<br/>
“And that is totally fine.” April said, she crossed the room and placed Chairman Meow on the nearest cat tower. “Are you ready?”<br/>
Five nodded. April returned to her spot behind the counter.<br/>
“Okay. One, two, three.”<br/>
They each took a bite of their sandwiches. April watched as Five successfully finished the mouthful, then smiled.<br/>
“Nice one.” She said. “How do you feel?”<br/>
Five grinned back at her.<br/>
“That was incredible.”<br/>
For a very brief moment they smiled at each other. There was something about that moment that brought so much warmth to April. She felt elated unlike any other time before. She guessed it was just down to the fact that she was aiding Five in his recovery from living in a broken world.<br/>
“I’ve only just realised how strange this kind of is. I mean, we met not long ago and all of a sudden it feels like we’ve known each other for ages. Is that just me?”<br/>
Five shook his head.<br/>
“No, it’s not just you. But trust me, what you just did helped. Seriously, it did. Thank you.”<br/>
April smiled even wider.<br/>
“Acts of kindness like that don’t come very often in a demon.”<br/>
“You’re trying to tell me that after what you just did, that you are a demon? Not a chance.” Five took another bite of his sandwich.<br/>
“Did you not see what I did back at the Institute? Is that not enough solid proof?” April joked.<br/>
“The Handler wasn’t wrong when she said what you did was impressive.” Five admitted.<br/>
“That was nothing.” April looked at her feet. “It would have been better if I wasn’t so tired. And I can do things far worse. You’ll see eventually.”<br/>
“Well until then I am still unconvinced that you are the most dangerous thing ever to exist.” Five said, pointing at her with his sandwich.<br/>
“Alright, whatever.” April said, giving up.</p><p>Since Five had eaten, he had become more open to conversation. April was surprised to find that what she did before had broken the ice so much, and now the two of them were seated in the lounge with a large plate of peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, discussing their childhoods. Five explained to April almost everything by the sound of it. How he was born at the exact same time as 42 other children, and how seven of them, including himself, were adopted and trained into something called the ‘Umbrella Academy’ by an eccentric billionaire that didn’t even appear to care for them. He even went as far as telling her about each of his siblings, though he appeared reluctant to do so at first. April merely sat, shocked about it all. But what seemed to panic her the most was<br/>
“Only half an hour of free time?! Tell me you’re kidding!” April exclaimed as she pulled a sneaky Chairman Meow away from the plate of sandwiches, and onto her lap.<br/>
“Trust me, I’m not. I wouldn’t know if that was always the case, though. I left quite a while ago.”<br/>
“Yeah I can tell.” April made a weak gesture towards Five. “How did you end up there though? Y’know, the apocalypse.”<br/>
Five sighed, just as he had done so many times that evening.<br/>
“I uh- I ran away. My father didn’t believe I was capable and of course, I saw different. So I left, and the first few times it worked. That was until I ended up in the apocalypse, and I just- I couldn’t get back. And in all the time I spent there I was fixed on getting back to my family, so I could stop the world from ending.”<br/>
“I can’t imagine what that would have been like.” April said in a small voice.<br/>
“You’ve been to Hell haven’t you?”<br/>
“Yeah Hell is a different kind of pain.” April said, keeping her eyes on Chairman Meow, who was licking her fingers. “Very different.”<br/>
“I’m sorry.” Five muttered. “I only learnt that all of this existed not long ago, so I-”<br/>
“It’s okay. I don’t blame you. It’s not the first time I’ve been confronted with that kind of thing so I guess you could say I’m used to it. It’s like me not fully understanding why you refused to eat.”<br/>
“That makes sense.”<br/>
April wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t blame Five. It was such a common thing to happen, anyone that was ever able to meet someone like her would make the misconception that Hell wasn’t as bad as depicted. If there was any phrase that April would use to describe Hell, based on her experiences, it would be ‘A painful shitshow that’s never been completely portrayed for mundanes correctly”. If she had to go in-depth for those that were thick-skulled, she would.</p><p>“What’s it like being alive for so long?” Five asked.<br/>
“I’ve forgotten a fair bit. A lot of it’s the same old training, travelling to some wild city, I swear, Dad has an apartment in every city in the world, making the odd trip to Hell and eventually being employed at the Commission. And there are other standout moments in there of course, but that’s pretty much it.”<br/>
“How come you train so much? You’ve been around for so long shouldn’t you be good at all of that?” Five asked. April lay down on the couch and placed a now sleepy Chairman on her chest.<br/>
“Well, you know how I’m super dangerous, right?”<br/>
Five nodded and took a bite from his sandwich.<br/>
“Yeah, Dad found that out the hard way. Not long after her found me, I think I was about one, one and a half-”<br/>
“Sorry, found you?”<br/>
“I’m adopted. My mother, a poor mundane, died at my birth and my father, just your normal everyday demon thought she deserved to spend the last nine months of her life in misery, and pissed off back to hell. I’ve probably killed him on a mission, that’s how well I don’t know him.”<br/>
“Ouch, what a way to enter the world.”<br/>
“Tell me about it. Anyway, once Dad found me, he figured I was just a warlock, until one night he was trying to get me to sleep but I didn’t want to, y’know, a classic toddler situation.”<br/>
Five nodded in understanding.<br/>
“So I burnt down over half the village we lived in. Just because I didn’t want to go to bed.”<br/>
“Aren’t you sweet.”<br/>
“I’m delightful.” April said, with a great hint of sarcasm. “Anyway, Dad learnt right away that I wasn’t any normal warlock and after a good while of suffering and putting it off, he reluctantly went down to Hell and asked his father whether I’d actually be considered a demon instead.”<br/>
“Who’s his father?”<br/>
“The greater demon Asmodeus.”<br/>
Five almost choked on his sandwich.<br/>
“Your grandfather is a greater demon!?”<br/>
“Okay not long ago you didn’t even know that Hell existed, how are you so shocked?!”<br/>
“Just because I didn’t know it existed doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s in it!”<br/>
“Okay, I’ll give you that. But to sum it all up, yes, I’m a demon and because of that Dad has put me on a strict training regime to keep me and my shit tonne of power under control.”<br/>
“That’s fair.”<br/>
“Yeah well most of the time it sucks. Take today for example. By the time I did what you saw I had already been in there for two hours.”<br/>
“At least you’re benefiting from it.”<br/>
April shrugged. “You have a point, but after 2 centuries it gets annoying and painful. Especially now that I kill people and demons for a living.” she stroked the Chairman, who thought it would be a good idea to sleep on her chest, where her view was obstructed.<br/>
“You make it sound like a bad thing.” Five said.<br/>
“I don’t mean to put you off the job you have no choice in doing but it just sucks having to kill random people for the sake of maintaining a certain timeline. I think it’s bullshit. But killing demons, I have no problem with that. I’d wipe them out with a snap of my fingers but I like a challenge.”<br/>
Five was silent for a moment. April moved a disgruntled Chairman to look at him.<br/>
“I don’t like this as much as you do. I could go home right now if I wanted to, but for all I know my siblings may not even be there anymore. And I don’t want to face my father. Not yet, at least.”<br/>
“I understand. If you don’t mind me asking, how long do you think we have until the world ends?”<br/>
Five was once again silent for a moment. April sat up (much to the Chairman’s dismay), reached over to Five and placed a hand on his shoulder. He made a small jolt.<br/>
“You don’t have to answer. I uh- I keep forgetting how big of a change this is for you.”<br/>
“It’s- it’s okay.” Five said quietly. “We have until April 2019. I haven’t even thought of it since I got here, I’ve just been trying to handle all of this. All of a sudden everything is so loud, and there are people everywhere, and I don’t need to put my life on the line to make it through the day.”<br/>
April considered what he said for a moment. The world was supposed to end in just over a year.<br/>
“I want to say I get it but I know I don’t. Or maybe I do. Just know that I understand the whole ‘being stuck in a place uninhabitable by people’ type of thing.”<br/>
“I would have figured that Hell wouldn’t have been as bad for you. Considering you’re one of them.” Five said with an air of caution.<br/>
April gave a tiny smirk as she leaned back on the couch. “Being one of them means nothing. They all hate me anyway.”<br/>
“Oh, right.”<br/>
“It’s only because I chose to stay and defend the world I fell in love with. It gets boring, living in the dark all the time, and being surrounded by power-hungry, fanged losers.” she looked to the floor. “And they’re mean to me.”<br/>
“So you kind of get it. And that’s better than nothing.” Five said, he gave a weak smile, which April returned.<br/>
“And as for that doomsday,” April added, Five’s face fell. “I’m sure that we can work it out. If we do some sneaking around the commission-”<br/>
“The Handler did say that it’s supposed to happen-”<br/>
“Which means nothing to me. I don’t care whether the world is supposed to end then or not. We’re stopping it from happening.” April said firmly. If the Handler was sure that this apocalypse was supposed to happen, then she was going to be sorely disappointed.<br/>
“It’s nice to know someone else is on board.” Five grinned.<br/>
April grinned back. “It might be best that we keep my Dad out of it for the time being, I might add. I think the last thing he wants is for me to go wandering off doing stuff that includes deviating from commission protocol. As much as he doesn’t want to be working for them as well, it’s doing both us and the Institute good.”<br/>
“Makes sense.” Five said. </p><p>The two of them sat in silence. April was trying to wrap her head around the things she had just learnt. She was surprised at how small her reaction to the end of the world was, as it was something she had always feared, despite being perfectly capable of doing it herself, but she doubted that she would do such a thing, and her determination to help Five stop it may have stopped her from doing anything of the sort already, but she just didn’t know. If it meant defying the Handler then she was all for it. </p><p>“I think I might call it a day.” April said, finally breaking the silence. As she stood up, Chairman Meow leapt off her lap and onto the nearest cat tower. “I can’t imagine how long it’s been since you last had a decent night’s sleep.”<br/>
“Don’t even get me started.” Five said, also standing up.<br/>
April smiled. “You’ll be sleeping in the room at the end of the hallway, and the bathroom is just the door opposite. And uh- I know you’d probably want to spend some time adjusting to being in civilisation again, and I would fight the Handler to make sure you do, but because she’s putting us to work almost instantly tomorrow’s going to be full-on.”<br/>
“What’ll we be doing?”<br/>
“Training for the most part.”<br/>
“Ugh.” Five sighed in utter disappointment.<br/>
“Me too, Five. I’ll be surprised if I can stand tomorrow. And if I can’t I’m sure Dad will still find a way to get me to practise. And the Handler will probably be there too, unless she’s already seen what you can do or-”<br/>
“No I don’t think so.”<br/>
“Ah, perfect.” April said with a heavy dash of sarcasm. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow now.”<br/>
“Think of how I feel.” Five said jokingly.<br/>
“I’m trying to. Seriously. The better we know each other the better we’ll work together I guess.”<br/>
“Yeah, I understand that.”<br/>
“So I’ll see you in the morning?”<br/>
“Yeah, g’night.”</p><p>Five and April went off in different directions towards their bedrooms. As April reached the door to hers, she turned around.<br/>
“Hey Five?”<br/>
Five, who had just made it to the hallway, turned around.<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
April hesitated for a moment. “I just wanted to say, sorry if I may have gotten heavy on you at any point or maybe talked too much. I just haven’t had the time to really talk to people outside of work, and I guess I can get a little carried away a-”<br/>
“It’s fine.” Five cut her off. “Seriously, it’s fine. I haven’t talked to anyone else in <i>years</i>. So if anything, I liked listening to you. And like you said, it’s all about getting to know each other. And I want to get to know you.” He smiled.<br/>
“That makes me feel better. ‘Night.” April grinned then turned and entered her bedroom, where she didn’t even stop to think about the evenings events, and instead collapsing onto her bed, and falling right to sleep, completely unaware that Chairman Meow was climbing up her curtains.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hiieee!<br/>This is the first chapter of my fic and I can't even begin to explain my excitement for putting this au of mine into the world. I hope you enjoy it! This au means a bunch to me as I've been working it all out in my head for a bit over a year, and finally putting it into writing feels super cool!</p><p>Kudos and comments are oh so appreciated too :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. You're a Cool Kind of Strange</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Five and April begin their work for the Commission, and continue to get to know one another. Five continues to adjust to modern society with April's help.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey leave me and my oddly specific AU that means oh so much to me alone. It's my lil world I'm making here if you don't like what happens then simply don't read it. Yeah, it's that easy! I'm writing about this AU first and foremost for me, because my tiny little brain can't maintain all of the twists and turns that said AU brings. I also wanted to share some of my writing with the world for once because I never have and I just wanna see how it goes. This is also an excuse to give Five all of the tonnes and tonnes of love he so badly desperately deserves.</p><p>This as been a psa.</p><p>Another note from me:<br/>This au includes aspects of the tua comics in places, and doesn’t perfectly follow the events of the shadowhunters series, due to certain parts that I’d like to have in the story. I am well aware of that, and I don’t plan to change it, because at the end of the day this is my au and I am doing whatever the heck I want with it. I’m writing this story for my own enjoyment first, and other people’s second.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>April would have easily slept through the entire day, if it hadn’t been for Chairman Meow licking her nose and squeaking. When she woke, she immediately sat up, causing Chairman to leap off her chest, and a great bunch of pain to shoot through her core. Wincing and muttering a colourful array of swear words, April staggered out of bed and across the room, where she assessed a not-so impressive display of newly scratched holes in her curtains. She looked down at the small cat, who was now nudging her ankles.<br/>“I would tell Dad, but all he’ll do is defend you.” she muttered, now hobbling over to her wardrobe, with Chairman waddling behind her.<br/>“Whatever. They’re his curtains anyway.” she said, pulling open her wardrobe doors and replacing the clothes she wore with a maroon cropped shirt with mid-arm length sleeves, and a black mid-thigh skirt. She then pulled on her boots and made to leave her room. She opened the door to let Chairman trot down the hall ahead of her, when she was greeted by numerous crashing sounds coming from the kitchen. Chairman assumed whoever was in the kitchen had food for him, and when April looked down, he had already disappeared around the corner. Hoping more than anything that Max hadn’t made his way into the apartment, April hurried into the kitchen to find not Max, but<br/>“Five?”<br/>Five whirled around to face April, looking as if he had been searching manically through the kitchen. He still looked incredibly tired, so April assumed that he hadn’t slept all that well that night. He made a small jump at the sight of the Chairman, who was at his feet demanding sustenance.<br/>“Morning,” Five said awkwardly. “Sorry if I made too much noise I was looking for coffee.”<br/>“Ah, I don’t drink coffee.” April said, scooping up Chairman and placing him in his favourite cat tower, where she had magically filled a dish with cat food. “The last time that happened I didn’t sleep for a week, and almost blew up a building, so Dad quickly labelled any kind of coffee a hazard.”<br/>“So I searched the entire kitchen for nothing?”<br/>“Uh- yeah.” April suppressed a small laugh . “Sorry.”<br/>Five sighed. “You know anywhere I can find some?” <br/>“Yeah we’ll go downstairs to Dad’s. He’ll have something nice for breakfast too.” April wandered back over to Chairman, who had inhaled his food and was now licking his front paws. She lifted him onto her shoulder, where he continued to clean himself, unfazed by the sudden change of location. “I’m betting on waffles. D’you like waffles?”<br/>“I don’t recall ever eating them.” Five replied.<br/>April looked astounded. “My god, man! The stuff you have missed out on! I’m going to make sure you get to experience it all, alright?” April headed to the front door and pulled it open. Five quickly followed.<br/>“Hey isn’t it a bit contradictory saying ‘my god’, given your background?” he said jokingly.<br/>“Do I look like I care?” April said, shutting the door behind her and locking it with a wave of her hand. “I think I’d be the only demon to get away with saying that, because I don’t kill people without a genuine purpose, unlike the others.”<br/>“If you say so.”<br/>The two of them walked down the empty hallway and down the single flight of stairs. April approached the door that was identical to hers, and pressed her ear to it. <br/>“What’re you doing?”<br/>“Making sure they’re awake.” April said, stepping away from the door and placing an eager Chairman on the floor. “Which they are.” she placed her hand on the door handle.<br/>“Oh, one thing before we go in.” Five said almost reluctantly.<br/>“Yeah?”<br/>“I’m not great around small children.” Five admitted.<br/>“Ah I kind of gathered that yesterday.” April said. “It’s alright. Max is harmless most of the time. The magic may startle you a bit, but I’ll make sure he gives you some space.”<br/>“Uh, yeah that would be good.” Five said. He gave April an awkward smile.</p><p>April opened the door and she and Five stepped inside. The apartment was decorated rather differently to April’s. Here there were more odd artefacts scattered around the place, and a greater amount of dinosaur toys on the floor. There were also less cat towers, and far more plants. At the sound of the front door closing, Magnus appeared in the entrance hall wearing black jeans and a t-shirt that read “Blink if you want me” in glittered writing. He didn’t bother to greet his daughter first, but instead the tiny grey cat clawing at his leg. He almost didn’t even acknowledge April and Five’s presence at all, he was too invested in giving his cat cuddles. April sighed in an unsurprised way.<br/>“Five, I don’t know how well you met him last night but let me reintroduce anyway. This is my father, the raging bisexual Magnus Bane who only has space in his heart for a spoilt cat.”<br/>“I heard you.” Magnus said, finally putting Chairman Meow on the floor, “And I’m flattered. Thank you.”<br/>April’s once hopeful face fell. “That’s not the point I was trying to get at.”<br/>“I know.” Magnus said cheerfully, and he walked off into the living room. April and Five followed him. </p><p>In the living room, Max was engrossed in his toy dinosaurs, wearing a different set of dinosaur pyjamas. Five looked at him with a tad of uneasiness, but was otherwise okay. April assumed that little Max hadn’t been awake for long, due to the sleepy look about his face, and an all-round lack of energy. Beyond the living room, Magnus was crashing around in the kitchen. <br/>“I thought I’d try making waffles the mundane way.” Magnus exclaimed. April gave Five a gentle nudge.<br/>“Told you.” she grinned. She then limped into the kitchen to already find it in a mess, and not a single waffle was in sight.<br/>“What fueled this idea? Is something wrong with your magic?”<br/>Magnus straightened up from digging around in a cupboard. “No, not at all. It’s just the result of a late night conversation. Alexander insisted I try it for once. See if I’m any better than Isabelle.”<br/>“Ah, I see.” April said, nodding. “Such a shame Alec’s not out of bed yet, he’ll be missing quite a show.” she leaned against the doorway, but was immediately pulled from comfort when she heard an apprehensive voice coming from the lounge. <br/>“Uh- April!?”<br/>With a good assumption of what was going on, April left Magnus to work mundane cooking out for himself and found Five looking incredibly uncomfortable, with Max attempting to cling on to his ankle.<br/>“Oh, Max! Leave him alone please.” She picked up the squirming toddler and held him at face level. Five stepped backwards. Max immediately pouted.<br/>“Bu- bu- bwotha?” He mumbled sadly. He turned his little head to face Five, who was now looking incredibly shy. <br/>“No, buddy. Not yet. D’you want to help daddy make waffles? Yeah you do, come on.” April carried Max over to the kitchen. As they went, Max flexed one of his chubby hands, and a pale green stegosaurus toy flew into his hand. April placed Max on the kitchen counter, where Magnus was sitting on it and flipping through a recipe book that appeared to be previously untouched. She then rejoined Five in the lounge, where a tousle-haired shadowhunter was making a beeline for the kitchen. April watched as he entered the kitchen and mumbled a “good morning, babe” to Magnus, followed by a “by the angel Magnus, what are you doing?” wearing a disappointed, but unsurprised look.<br/>“It’s nice to know our presence has been acknowledged.” she said, with heavy sarcasm. <br/>“Is that normal?” Five asked. April turned to him and shrugged.<br/>“Depends really.” She crossed the room and pulled open a glass sliding door. “When was the last time you watched a sunrise from a balcony?” she stepped outside and gestured for Five to follow her. <br/>Five didn’t hesitate. He stepped out onto the balcony and rested his arms on the railing. April watched as he looked out at the view with absolute awe. The sun was still rising, casting a golden glow onto the city below. There was the ever-constant sound of cars crawling through overpopulated streets, and the very distant chatter of mundanes dragging themselves to work. A light breeze ruffled their hair, and briefly left April feeling incredibly elated.<br/>“This is so cool.” Five said quietly. April walked up and leaned on the rail next to him. <br/>“Did your father ever let you do this?”<br/>“The only time we ever got to see a nice view was when we happened to be somewhere nice on a mission. But I don’t even remember much of those.” Five said. <br/>“Simple things can be so interesting when you go for so long without them.” April said, looking out at the view. Of course, she could look at it whenever she wanted, but there was something about looking at it right then and there that made her appreciate it a little bit more. <br/>“You can say that again.” Five replied, “All of these things that I took for granted, I started to miss them so much. Including just being around people.” <br/>“I usually thrive in solitude.” April said. “When practicing certain branches of magic. But that’s nothing like what you must have experienced.”<br/>“I hated it.” Five kept his eyes on the view. “But I did find someone eventually.” <br/>“You did?”<br/>“Yeah. Uh- Delores was her name.” he sounded crestfallen as he spoke. “She was with me for over 30 years.”<br/>“Woah. That’s a long time. I’m glad you found someone to go through it all with.”<br/>“Yeah. It’s a shame I couldn’t bring her with me-”<br/>April turned to Five, astounded. <br/>“You LEFT her there?!”<br/>“Shit! I should have said it before, but I was kinda afraid. She’s a mannequin.”<br/>April sighed in relief. “Oh. Oh that makes sense.”<br/>“She was as real to me as any other person could be. She kept me sane.”<br/>“She must have meant so much to you.” April said. <br/>“She really did. I’m sure she’s happy for me.”<br/>“I know she would be. You know, she’s probably out in the city somewhere, in a department store. We could go and find her one day.”<br/>Five nodded. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her again. In case the world ends.”<br/>“I completely understand that.” </p><p>The two of them stood in silence for a moment, watching the city below them come to life with each passing second. April looked at Five, he looked mesmerised and partially saddened, but he continued to watch traffic move below them like lines of ants, and the occasional flickering of coloured lights. Not even she had taken the time to appreciate a morning in a long time. There was always a reason for her to turn away from the window, and if she ever did, it was never long and peaceful like that moment then. Of course, moments like these never lasted forever, especially not in the Bane household. Of all things to break the silence and send Five almost 2 feet into the air, a great crash emitting from the kitchen, followed by Max’s manic giggles. April said a small “oh no” as she headed towards the kitchen, leaving Five on the balcony, rapidly swearing under his breath.<br/>April entered the kitchen to find a predictable, but all the same surprising sight before her. The vast kitchen was coated, from floor to ceiling, in what appeared to be waffle mix. Magnus was frozen in shock, his arms reaching out for Max, who was standing on the kitchen counter, still giggling. They too were dressed in mixture, and even poor Chairman Meow caught some of the blast, and he wasn’t impressed. Alec, who had been in another room, appeared at April’s side, clearly unsurprised. Five trailed in behind them, and stopped dead at the sight of the mess. <br/>“It was him.” Magnus said, jabbing a finger in the toddler’s direction. Max smiled goofily and waddled across the counter towards Magnus.<br/>“Lucky you’re not cleaning the mundane way.” April said. She carefully treaded into the kitchen. “I don’t even think this is mixed properly!”<br/>“I’m not trying this again any time soon.” Magnus said in a wasted tone. “I’ll stick to my traditional ways for the time being.” He flicked his wrist and the mess vanished, followed by another wrist flick, and plates of waffles appeared on the counter, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles which April swore had glitter in them. She scooped up Max and carried him into the lounge where she conjured what was essentially an oversized hamster ball around him, complete with a couple of dinosaur toys inside.<br/>“You’ve caused enough damage, sir.” April joked, tapping the ball. Max rolled around the lounge, content with his situation. Five looked on, confused.<br/>“Do you do that all the time?”<br/>“Yeah, he doesn’t mind it. Keeps him out of trouble.” April said matter-of-factly. She re-entered the kitchen and took two plates of waffles and forks. “Want to go sit on the balcony again?”<br/>“Sure.” Five said, smiling. He took a plate, and as they walked onto the balcony, he tasted some of the whipped cream, and smiled even wider. The two of them sat and ate in silence, their eyes glued on the view. That view never got old, even after decades of small glimpses at it, that view always captured April’s interest. All those lights, all those buildings that just seem to get taller somehow, all of the tiny things going on in that mundane world, oh how there was so much they didn’t know…</p><p>“What exactly are we doing today?” Five asked, breaking the silence.<br/>April turned to face Five, and saw that his plate was clear already.<br/>“I’m guessing you like waffles?”<br/>“Whoever invented them deserves an award.” Five said, grinning.<br/>April smiled. “Nice to see you ate them with ease. But in terms of what we’re doing, uh- I guess it’s just getting to know what you’re capable of, familiarising you with what I’m capable of, all that kind of stuff.” she stabbed the last of her waffle with her fork and ate it. “But if I’m completely honest, I can’t be assed. I prefer training in my own time. With music.”<br/>“I’m interested to see what you can do.” Five said. “I’ve never met a demon before.”<br/>April rolled her eyes jokingly. “Most demons can perform magic to a degree, but I got it double, just by chance. Most of the time it’s great, I’m unstoppable, seriously! But the way my dad trains me just makes it painful.” she glanced inside to find Magnus seated happily on the couch with Alec, Max rolling around at their feet.<br/>“You wouldn’t think he’s a pressuring coach who yells half the time, would you?”<br/>“I saw a bit of that last night.” Five admitted.<br/>“That’s not the worst it’s been. He only ever wants me to work to the best of my abilities but sometimes he just ends up pushing it over the edge.”<br/>“Sounds like my father.” Five said. “Except he never really cared for us like a father should. Like I said, we’re experiments to him.”<br/>“I still can’t believe you only got half an hour of free time a week.” April said, collecting her empty plate and making her way across the balcony. Five laughed.<br/>“Is that seriously the only thing you worry about? None of the other painful stuff we went through?!” he whirled around in his seat to face April.<br/>“Free time is important! How could you not be outraged about that?!” she laughed and made her way inside. <br/>~~~<br/>After insisting that Magnus didn’t need to be at the training gym straight away, and that he was more than fine to spend the morning with his boyfriend, April led Five across the street to the nearest coffee shop, where he ordered the darkest coffee they offered.<br/>“I’m sorry, but you’re insane.” April said as they left the shop. “How do you handle that stuff?”<br/>“No idea” Five said, taking a sip from his takeaway cup. “It’s not as dark as I’d like, but I’ll take it.”<br/>“Please tell me you’re kidding.” April said. She pushed open the door to the Institute.</p><p>Inside was the usual sight, shadowhunters walking around either panicking or reluctantly inducing panic in others.<br/>“Everything’s going to shit in the shadow world.” April explained, as she and Five walked along the outskirts of the Institute and made their way over to the training gym door.<br/>“I don’t actually know a lot, but Hell’s in there somewhere. And some idiot wanting to be all-powerful. Such a shame I didn’t get the chance to meet him..”<br/>“How come you don’t know much?” Five asked.<br/>“Dad said they’re not my battles to fight. And he reckons I’m better off doing commission work.” April said, sliding open the door to the gym. “And if I were to get caught up in it I may make reckless decisions, certain demons and such could become more dangerous and power-hungry, and in general, I would elevate the mess.”<br/>“Seriously?”<br/>“Yeah, I have history with some more well-known underbeings and I’m not proud of it. Take my grandfather for example.”<br/>“Ah, right.”</p><p>April stepped into the centre of the gym and looked up to the window. That window that always brought her so much calm. The still rising sun was casting those beautiful ribbons of light, and specs of dust were once again basking in them, floating around aimlessly. It was then that it dawned on April, she didn’t know where to start. She glanced over at Five, who was awkwardly standing by the door, sipping his coffee. <br/><i>This was a stupid idea.</i> April thought. The last thing she wanted to do was go to the Handler for direction. The only visible ideas of what to do was either warm up, or stand around and wait for Magnus, who could take hours at the most to arrive.<br/>But before any awkward silence could ensue, the gym door slid open and Magnus entered.<br/>“It appears my thoughts have manifested you.” April said. “I thought you were going to spend some quality time with Alec?”<br/>“He’s been called here for work.” Magnus said matter-of-factly. “I’m also lacking trust in you at the moment.”<br/>April threw Magnus a dirty look. Which he returned. <br/>“I also don’t want you doing something stupid whilst-”<br/>“Please don’t tell me she’s comi-”<br/>“She’s coming too.”<br/>“FOR PETE’S SAKE!” April whirled around dramatically. Minute flames emitted from her fingertips.<br/>“<i>Why</i> does she have to turn up to everything?!”<br/>“Sometimes I wonder if you’re still a child, April.” Magnus said plainly. He folded his arms and looked towards April with a placid expression.<br/>“Don’t say that.” April said through gritted teeth. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Five, who’s eyes had widened.<br/>“Sorry.” April said weakly. “She annoys me, that’s all it is.” she turned away and started to slowly pace around the gym. For a reason unbeknown to her, her face grew hot, and not in a way she was used to.<br/>“It’s okay.” Five said quietly. “You were just a bit louder than expected.”<br/>“If that’s compared to anything else, I’d say that was quiet.” Magnus said.<br/>“Seriously?”<br/>“You’ll find out later.” April said wearily as she went and stood next to Magnus. “Just tell me this won’t take too long?” she looked almost pleadingly at her father.<br/>“I don’t exactly know what she wants.” Magnus said. “But I’ll make sure you’re not overworked again. If anything, she’ll just want to see if your magic is intact.”<br/>“Anything more and I’ll have her burned to the ground.” April said waspishly. “And what does she know? She’s nothing but a self-absorbed, autocratic bi-</p><p>“It’s nice to hear you’ve been anticipating my arrival.”<br/>The Handler stood in the doorway, wearing a grin that only made April’s existing nausea worse. As the Handler stepped into the gym, April saw Five’s face fall into what was clearly distaste. Unable to handle the mere sight of her, she turned and walked into the centre of the gym, and started ‘warming up’ her magic. She tossed great bursts of flames into the air, making sure that each whirl of flame exploded with a loud bang, to not only drown out the Handler’s voice, but also make speaking to Magnus almost undoable. </p><p>“APRIL! Cut it out and come over here please!” Magnus shouted. April made a loud groan and shuffled back across the gym to where Magnus, Five and the Handler were standing. <br/>“I do apologise, she’s rather unpleasant this morning.” Magnus said, throwing April a ‘get your act together’ look. April merely rolled her eyes. She did admit to herself that she was acting rather badly, but she cared very little. She couldn’t be expected to keep her sensitive emotions under control all the time. <br/>“It’s not like I’m not used to it.” the Handler said, smiling. “But now that we are all here, I can finally explain what I’d like to get done. Magnus, I would like you to administer this to Number Five.” the Handler drew a phial of a deep grey substance from the pocket of her coat. Five retreated slightly.<br/>“What the hell is that?”<br/>“Something that will better your abilities.” The Handler said.<br/>“This looks like some kind of magic, but I can’t identify it.” Magnus said, taking the phial from the Handler. “Where did you get this?”<br/>“The Commission has been working on this and this alone for quite some time, and I’ve finally seen a fitting opportunity to try it out.”<br/>“I didn’t consent to being an experiment!” Five said, almost outraged. “What are you trying to do to me?!”<br/>“Nothing that will bring you harm.” The Handler said calmly. “If everything has been done correctly, you and April may just be the most dangerous agents we have. You’ll be <i>unstoppable</i> together.”<br/>“What on earth are you on about?” Five said, his eyes fixed sharply on the Handler. “If it’s not going to give me my adult body, I’m not taking it.”<br/>“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” The Handler said, giving a small shrug. “It’s painless, and it will do you so much good whilst working here-”<br/>“You’re just doing this for your own benefit aren’t you?” April glared savagely at the Handler. “You aren’t even giving him a choice in any of this.”<br/>“I’m his employer, and what I say, goes.” the Handler said. “And like I said, it will be good for work out on the field. Magnus, if you could get on with it please.”<br/>Five was rooted to the spot, terrified. As April distanced herself, she lay a hand on his shoulder. He made a small jump.<br/>“It won’t hurt.” she said quietly. As she walked away, Five muttered “I hope you’re right.”</p><p>Magnus opened the phial and let the substance hover above his outstretched hand. It appeared to be something between a liquid and a wisp of magic.<br/>“You still haven’t told us what it is.” Magnus said, eyeing it suspiciously.<br/>“I will explain it all in due time. Just give it to him.” The Handler wore an almost eager smile. April threw her a dirty look as she heard Five mumble “I don’t like this..”<br/>Magnus wasted no time. With one clean wave of his hand, the substance, once floating and shimmering in the morning sun, shot towards Five and hereupon faded into his chest, causing him to stagger backwards. April hurried forward and caught him, but hastily let go once on his feet, figuring that touch was still a strange concept to him. He breathed heavily, then looked to Magnus. <br/>“I don’t feel any different.”<br/>“Good.” The Handler said, eyeing him up and down.<br/>“I also notice I’m still a child.” Five said, disappointed.<br/>“I never said that I would return you to your adult state.” <br/>“I noticed.”<br/>“So much for caring about your employees.” April said snarkily. The Handler, usually someone to ignore such comments from April, gave her a disapproving look, to which April gave no response.<br/>“So what is this supposed to be all about?” Five said grumpily, brushing a hand over his chest.<br/>“I’ll explain once we find out whether this worked.” The Handler said. She stood in the centre of the gym and gestured for April to follow. <br/>“Now, you two,” she inclined her head to Five, who still stood by the door with a hand on his chest. “I want you to put aside whatever work-partnership-building you may have done for a couple of minutes. April, take this.” the Handler drew a gun from her coat.<br/>“<i>Excuse me</i>?” April exclaimed, “you know I don’t work with weaponry.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Magnus throw yet another dark look.<br/>“You are for a moment. Don’t worry, you won’t be firing anything.” The Handler forced the gun into April’s hand. “Number Five, if you could stand at the other end of the room, and April I want you to point the gun at him.” <br/>“Alright, whatever.” April raised the gun and pointed it at Five, who had blinked to the other end of the gym, looking as if he wanted this to be over as much as she did. <br/>“Now what?” April said.<br/>“I want Five to disarm you.”<br/>“What?” Five and April said in unison. Magnus made no comment, in fact, when April looked over to him, he was on his phone, probably texting Alec.<br/>Rolling her eyes, April looked at the Handler.<br/>“I could easily deflect him, you know that.”<br/>“I’m aware. Just go easy on him.”<br/>“I haven’t done anything like this in years.” Five said. To April, he sounded as if this was the last thing he wanted to do. She didn’t blame him.<br/>“This should help you get back into things quickly.” The Handler stepped backwards and smiled. “When you’re ready, Number Five.”</p><p>April had formulated a small plan in her head. A simple shield would do it. Across the room, Five rolled his eyes and blinked out of view. Before she could process the fact that Five was gone, April felt a sharp force against her back, sending her towards the ground. The gun flew into the air, and was snatched up by a blurred hand. April whirled around and began conjuring a shield, but Five was much too fast. He broke through what little parts of the shield April had made, and pinned her to the ground, his knee beginning to dig into her stomach. When all movement had ceased, she also found that the gun was now pressed against her forehead. Pain coursed through her already defeated muscles, and now in her back, too. All she could muster were shaking breaths, some with the odd wince. She heard the Handler exclaim “Incredible!” from the gym’s edge. “It worked!”</p><p>“Ow! Five! Get, off, me!” April heaved a shaking breath with every word. <br/>“Shit, sorry.” Five said, scrambling off her. Magnus hurried forward and kneeled next to her.<br/>“You okay, hun?”<br/>“Yeah, yeah, whatever I’m okay.” April said gruffly. “It’s just- my muscles are damaged enough as it is.” She used Magnus’ shoulder for support as she stood up. Five tossed the gun to the floor and shoved his hands in his shorts pockets.<br/>“Are you going to explain this shit now? What have you done to me?” He said to the Handler, who was still grinning unpleasantly.</p><p>“That phial contained a project that the Commission has been working on in secret for an incredibly long time. Because we strive to have only the most skilled agents on the field, we decided to try and formulate something to better the skills of our agents, in only the best way possible.” The Handler paused to light a cigarette.<br/>“Look, I don’t care about whatever shitty backstory there is. What have you done to me?” Five said impatiently.<br/>“If you insist.” The Handler said with an air of disappointment. “That phial contained samples of the genetics of the world’s most notorious and dangerous assassins. What Magnus did to you earlier inserted that DNA into your body, giving you the abilities of almost all of the world’s most formidable killers. Now tell me, what were you thinking when you disarmed April?”<br/>Five was silent for a moment.<br/>“I- nothing. I thought nothing. Not at least until she said I was hurting her.” Five said.<br/>The Handler grinned. <br/>“That was simply a taste of what mercilessness you’ll have out on the field. Much like what your partner happens to have naturally.”<br/>April rolled her eyes and scowled at the Handler.<br/>“I don’t understand,” Five said, brows furrowed. “Why me?”<br/>“It’s only too clear!” The Handler exclaimed, sending a puff of smoke into the air. “You already have the added bonus of space and time manipulation. Those abilities, paired with such incredible killing precision is only too perfect in my eyes. And what better way to top it off than by pairing you with the most dangerous force alive?”<br/>April saw how clear it was to the Handler, and couldn’t help but agree. But she also could see how incredibly unfair it was on Five, after being thrown into so much in the span of less than 24 hours, and now becoming the perfect killer without so much as a hint of even wanting to.<br/>“I don’t like this.” Five said in a small voice. April could see how he didn’t know what to do with himself. He seemed as though he had no idea where to look, what to say, or how to even feel. <br/>“I don’t like it either.” April said. Five turned to look at her, but she kept her eyes firmly on the Handler.<br/>“You haven’t given him any choice with this. You’re treating him like an object for your own benefit.”<br/>“I’d like to remind you that <i>I’m</i> the boss here. And what I say goes.” The Handler opened the door to the gym.<br/>“You can train, if you want. But just know your first assignment is tomorrow morning, and I’ll be watching.”<br/>She grinned a nasty grin, then departed.</p><p>Silence hung in the gym for too long. Five was pacing around the gym and staring at the floor. Every so often he would mutter “I don’t like this” under his breath. Magnus was typing rapidly on his phone, either informing Alec on what just happened (why would he need to know?) or more likely telling him how much he loved him as soon as he could. And probably littering the messages with heart emojis. April continued to stare at the door where the Handler once was, arms folded and a cold expression on her face. Although the past few moments had provided her with plenty to think about, her head was empty, except for one recurring thought. <br/>“That’s it. I’m going to slit her throat in her sleep.” she said, turning to face her father, who didn’t look up from his phone.<br/>“That’s not a good idea, hun.”<br/>“I don’t care. She can’t just ‘modify’ agents against their own will. And personally I think two lunatics is more than enough.”<br/>“Excuse me?!” Five had made it to the other end of the gym, and had stopped pacing to throw April a disgruntled expression.<br/>“It’s an exaggeration.” April said in a defeated tone. She turned back to Magnus, who had finally decided to part with his phone. “As I was saying. She’s self absorbed and power-hungry. She’s gone ahead and done shit to Five against his own will, and she hasn’t even treated him right from the start! She hasn’t restored his body, and instead turned him into a more hostile person, and let alone given him enough time to readjust into human society! Need I say more?”<br/>“Nice to know someone cares about me.” Five said blandly. He was still pacing at the other end of the gym. April wasn’t so sure if it was sarcasm or not, but made a small grin either way.<br/>“Anyway I’m not training now. It hurts to stand.” <br/>“I’m not going to force you to do anything.” Magnus said. April was surprised, for she was under the impression Magnus wanted her to do some kind of training before leaving. “You just risk potentially botching a mission tomorrow, and the last thing either of you two need is to be scolded after your first mission together. It’ll look bad.”<br/>“Yeah no shit. What makes it worse is we both look like kids.” April said irritably. “But we won’t let that happen. Because apparently we’re the <i>best</i>.”<br/>“Alright, whatever.” Magnus sighed and headed towards the door. “I’ve got things to take care of in the shadow world. You two are adults, sort yourselves out. Just know that you’ll be watched tomorrow.”<br/>‘You say that like you don’t have faith in us.”<br/>“I do, but I’m just worried.”<br/>Magnus left without saying another word. </p><p>“Doesn’t change how I feel about slitting her throat” April said quietly, as she lay down in the middle of the gym. Up above her, she raised her hands and sent small whirls of flames dancing upwards. <br/>“I think you’ll do fine.” Five said. He still stood in the corner, though he looked less annoyed. April continued to look upwards as she let the flames swirl around.<br/>“Didn’t I see a bit of what you could do yesterday anyway?”<br/>“Pretty much.” April said, “That’s as insane as it would get out on the field. But there’s some things not even Dad knows. And he thinks he knows all about how my magic works.”<br/>“I don’t think you need to do any more training.” Five said. <br/>“This isn’t just about me. You’re a part of this too.”<br/>“So? By the looks of things I’ll know what I’m doing without even trying.” Five blinked from the other end of the gym, right to where she was. He stood at her side and looked down at her.<br/>“I don’t know whether to consider this awkward or not.” April said.<br/>“What?”<br/>“We met less than 24 hours ago, yet I feel like I’ve known you for longer. Is it because you’ve told me so much about you? Or am I just being stupid?”<br/>“You’re strange” Five said with a small grin.<br/>“Is that bad?”<br/>“I could get used to it.”<br/>April couldn’t help but return the grin.</p><p>The idea of training soared out the window without looking back. April had complete faith, and felt that she and Five would be just fine in the mission to come. Five only seemed to have an interest in adjusting to society, for so much had changed since he had left. The plan was to simply get to know each other some more, because neither of them could really think of any other place to start. In the elevator back to the apartment, April opened her mouth to ask “So, what do you wanna talk about?” when she was stopped by a small noise from the pocket of her skirt. From it she drew her phone. Five looked at it with a baffled expression.<br/>“The hell is that?”<br/>“A-a phone?”<br/>“Seriously?”<br/>April turned to face Five completely.<br/>“Haven’t you seen a touchscreen phone before? These first came out somewhere in the late 1900s!”<br/>“Need I remind you of my childhood?”<br/>“Ah, right. Well do you recall even hearing about them?”<br/>“I may have, but I wouldn’t remember.” Five stepped closer and eyed April’s phone. “You’ve gotta show me how this thing works.” he reached over and prodded the screen, which lit up at his touch. As April imagined, he flinched. She couldn’t help but giggle.<br/>“It’s not funny!”<br/>“I know that!” April said, doing her best to suppress any further giggles. She looked down at her phone and saw a text message from Magnus.<br/>“You’re not going to like this.” she said, quickly typing a reply, then putting the phone away. She couldn’t help but notice that Five had watched her typing away, as if sending a text message was magic in itself. Once the phone was out of sight, Five gave a small shake, like he was returning to reality.<br/>“What am I not going to like?”<br/>“Dad assumed we wouldn’t be in the gym for long and because both he and Alec are fighting whatever’s going on in the shadow world, I’ve been left to babysit Max. So unless you want to go somewhere else, you’re joining me.” April gave Five an uncertain smile. The kind of one that says “I’m sorry, but I can’t really change anything.”<br/>Five sighed unhappily. April knew how he felt about Max, and she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, not with everything going on for him.<br/>“Look, Max won’t do you any harm. He’s better than most kids. He knows a fair bit of english and he usually listens to me. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, especially not when you’re still adjusting to everything. Like I said this morning, I’ll make sure he gives you space.”<br/>“Uh- yeah. Okay. I appreciate that.” Five gave a half-smile. The elevator doors opened and April led the way to the top floor, where she opened the apartment door to find the usual array of dinosaur toys on the lounge floor, although their rightful owner was not up on his feet, he was instead passed out on the couch. Five kept a distance from the couch as he passed through the lounge into the kitchen, where he began yet another search. April slowly made her way over to Max, who upon closer inspection was clutching onto a red t-rex amidst his slumber. She decided against waking him, for the less active and disturbing he was, the better.</p><p>April passed through the lounge and into the kitchen, where she saw that Five had managed to locate sandwich ingredients. April leaned on the kitchen counter and faced Five, just as she did the night before. <br/>“I probably should have thought this through better, ‘cause now I’ve got no idea what we’re going to do for the rest of the day.” <br/>“I thought you have to look after your brother?” Five said, not looking up from the sandwich he was making.<br/>“Max is pretty independent. All I really ever have to do is keep him in the same room as me and keep at least one eye on him, in case he blows something up.”<br/>“The fact that he can do that doesn’t make me feel any better.”<br/>“I know it doesn’t. I practically knew that from the start. But if we’re calm, he will be too. He really isn’t that bad.”<br/>Five finally looked up at April. “I’ll take your word for it. But it’ll take me some time to get used to it.”<br/>“Oh I completely understand that,” April said, taking a marshmallow from the open bag before her, “I’m not trying to force you to be okay with it or anything, I’m just saying that he’s capable of magic, so don’t be too surprised if something happens.”<br/>“Alright then.”<br/>There was a moment where neither of them spoke, nor made eye contact. Five looked off at the view directly in front of them, and April turned and looked at the couch, where the only part of Max she could see, a stationary tuft of blue hair, told her that he was still fast asleep. April wasn’t one for standing awkward silences, so she made an attempt to revive the conversation.</p><p>“So uh- is there anything you wanted to talk about? Even if it may seem stupid, if it’s gonna help you adjust back into society then I’m open to talking about it. Unless you’d rather sit in silence then that’s cool too, I guess. I just don’t really like silence, I listen to music instead.”<br/>“Damn, music must have changed so much.” Five said, still staring at the view. He briefly looked at the half-eaten sandwich in his hand, then to April.<br/>“I uh- I don’t really know. I can’t think of anything, only because I already have so much going on in my head. Things I’d rather not remember.”<br/>“My dad knows a thing or two about removing memories. But I don’t think he’d rather do it again after certain experiences. It’s a risky branch of magic.”<br/>“Yeah I’d rather stay traumatized than dabble with risky magic. The whole concept of warlocks and demons and all that is still so new to me.”<br/>“It’s probably why Dad rathered that we trained. So you’re used to it.” April fiddled with the hem of her shirt, avoiding eye contact. She didn’t even feel embarrassment, or any other feeling that would lead her to looking away. </p><p>“I guess it’s a lot to get your head around. I don’t know what the Handler was thinking, putting you with someone that’s only going to make everything so much more confusing.”<br/>“What do you mean? You’re not confusing.” <br/>April looked up at Five with disbelief. Before she could comment, he continued.<br/>“I figured that stuff like this could exist in one way or another. I mean, I have powers of my own, remember? It’s just the sheer amount of it that’s out there.”<br/>“I forget that you can uh, teleport or whatever you call it.”<br/>“Spacial jumps” Five said, and he blinked away from where he stood, and appeared behind April, making her jump. She heard him laugh, despite his attempts to suppress it with a smile. <br/>“Who knew that I would be capable of scaring the most dangerous force alive?”<br/>“It’s not funny.”<br/>“Yes it is.”<br/>Five looked at April with a smile that looked almost mischievous. April couldn’t resist smiling back.<br/>“You’re pretty cool for an old guy.”<br/>“Really? I guess I won’t argue.”<br/>April wanted to comment on how Five was by far one of the more interesting adults she had met (and not just because of his appearance), but she was interrupted by a red t-rex toy smacking her in the back of the head.<br/>“Ow! For god’s sake-” April rubbed the back of her head and turned around to see Max standing on the couch, giggling.<br/>“Now that was a controversial comment” Five said, again suppressing a laugh.<br/>“Yeah whatever, Five.” April said. She strode over to the couch, muttering swear words under her breath as she went. She lifted Max off the couch and held him level with her face. Despite being disappointed at his actions, she couldn’t help but notice yet again, just how adorable her little brother was. There was something about his huge blue eyes that made him look oh so innocent, his messy navy curls, and the teeny blue horns that poked out of them. Aside from all that and more, April somehow still had room for an inkling of disappointment. </p><p>She looked at Max directly in the eyes.<br/>“What did Dad say about throwing things?”<br/>“No.” Max said in a small voice. “Papa say no.”<br/>“That’s right.” April said, nodding. “And how do you think the dinosaur feels?”<br/>“Ouch.” Max said, giving a small pout. He lifted one of his chubby hands and the dinosaur he threw soared into his grasp. He cuddled it to his chest. “I’m sowwy dino.”<br/>“That’s better. Don’t do it again, or I’ll bring out the sailor suit of shame.” April said sternly. She smiled quickly after, and Max smiled back, the few teeth he had shining in the early afternoon sun. He looked over April’s shoulder and pointed a small finger.<br/>“Bwotha?”</p><p>April turned to see Five standing behind her, looking curiously at Max. He stepped a bit closer, but still kept some distance.<br/>“Why is he blue? I never got round to asking earlier.”<br/>“Uh, I don’t actually know. I think it’s cute though.” She grinned at Max, whose only interest currently was Five. He continued to reach out to him, flexing his tiny fingers.<br/>“I will admit,” Five said, stepping ever so closer, “he is kind of cute.”<br/>Max giggled, and this time reached out far enough to touch Five’s nose. Five flinched a little, causing both April and Max to giggle.<br/>“What’d you think of that?” April asked, grinning at Five.<br/>“I uh- I don’t know how to feel.” Five admitted, “I guess it was alright.”<br/>“I told you he’s alright, see?” without thinking, April gently took Five’s hand, and held it up to Max. There was something so nice about how Five’s skin felt against hers. If she hadn’t known about all that those hands had been through, once fighting against crime, then fighting for survival, and soon to be fighting to save the world, would she have felt any different? Maybe she was looking too deep into it, but some very distant part of her wanted to hold Five’s hands, and give them a break from all of that fighting they had endured. She wanted to give Five the break that he seriously deserved. She knew full well that he needed one. The way he paced through the gym, the slight strain in his voice, it only told April that he needed a break. But at this rate, a break was far out of reach, which even pained her. And then her mind trailed off. </p><p>
  <i>Am I allowed to think that? I met him yesterday, I can’t be thinking like that? I’m not thinking like that, I’m not.</i>
</p><p>Max continued to mumble strange noises, until he noticed Five’s hand. He goggled at it for a moment, then reached out and grabbed onto two of Five’s fingers without hesitation. This time, Five didn’t flinch, or do anything of the sort. He simply stood, and eyed Max curiously as he gripped onto his fingers. April watched as Five grew more comfortable with Max. It was an incredible sight.<br/>Soon enough, April saw a smile grow on Five’s face. It was small, but it was there. And when Max saw Five smile, he started to laugh.</p><p>“How on earth did you do this?” Five asked quietly.<br/>“Do what?”<br/>“This!” Five lifted the hand that Max was still gripping onto ever so slightly.<br/>“What d’you mean? All I did was move your hand, the rest of it was you, buddy.”<br/>“If you say so.” Five looked at Max and grinned some more. <br/>“For a moment I thought you would move away.”<br/>“Since you got me to eat yesterday, I’ve gathered that I can trust you.” Five looked away from Max briefly to give April a smile.<br/>“I don’t care about a lot of people like that. You’re one of the lucky ones I guess.” Once again, April saw herself lacking in eye contact. She instead kept her eyes on Max, who was giggling still. From the corner of her eye she could see Five was looking at her, and smiling. The meaning behind that smile, she didn’t know, but whatever it may have been, it didn’t stop April from feeling warm and happy inside. It was a wonderful feeling.</p><p>“It’s the magic bit I’m worried about.” Five said, looking back at Max.<br/>“He won’t hurt you.” April said, giving Max a small poke on the cheek. “He sees you as a friend. Or a ‘brother’ as he likes to say. He’s quite into the whole ‘anti-gravity spells’ thing at the moment. And turning into a bat.”<br/>“A what?” Five withdrew his hand from Max’s grip and turned to April. Max wasn’t upset, he simply reached out to Five again.<br/>“A bat. Please tell me you know what a bat is.”<br/>“Yeah I do. But <i>what</i>? How is that even possible?”<br/>“Magic.” April said, trying her best not to laugh. “That reminds me, it’s probably better that you know I can do this,” she placed Max on the couch then stood in front of Five, and morphed effortlessly into a cat made of wisps of orange magic. Max laughed and jumped up and down on the couch, enjoying the show. As April expected, Five was startled. She quickly morphed back, and once again picked up Max, who played with a strand of her hair.<br/>“Any questions?” April asked, grinning.<br/>“Uh, no. None. I’ve just gotta remember that you can do that, that’s all.” Five said, still looking bewildered at April. <br/>“I don’t actually do it that much. Only when I want to get away from people.”<br/>“Fair.” Five bent down slightly and looked at Max, who was now putting April’s hair in his mouth.<br/>“Warlocks are strange. A cool kind of strange.” <br/>“I haven’t heard that one before” April said, grinning. She sat down on the couch and placed Max on the floor, where he took immediate interest in his toys. Five sat down in the armchair opposite.<br/>“Come to think of it, there is something I’m curious about.” he said.<br/>“Yeah?”<br/>“How do you cope being in a body unfit for your age?”</p><p>In all of the 247 years April had lived, she had never been asked such a question, and had absolutely no idea how to approach it.<br/>“Uh, I’ve never actually been asked that before. Like I said yesterday, I’m pissed because I stopped ageing sooner than I’d like, but I’ve found, because for me time just goes on, and on, and on, that after a while I’ve just forgotten. Probably because I know there’s no way to change it, so I’ve learnt to live with looking like a child. And because I’m at such a ridiculous age now I’m probably better off looking like I’m 14 than looking physically 247. So it has it’s benefits. And because no mundane would believe that I’m two centuries old, I’ve just gotten used to being called ‘kid’ and ‘young lady’ all the time. Though it is annoying.”<br/>“There isn’t anything that the commission can do? Even to make you a few years older like you hoped?”<br/>April shook her head. “Well, there is, but whether it works on warlocks, we don’t know. And if it did I don’t think the Handler would give it to me easily. Which leads me to wonder why she hasn’t done it to you..”<br/>“My theory is because not everyone perceives a mass murderer with a 100% kill rate to look like a small child. And she’s probably trying to annoy me.”<br/>“That’s actually quite smart.” April said as she pried a drool-coated tv remote from Max’s hands. “She’ll probably make you work for it, then add a twist to piss you off even further.”<br/>“Is she known to do that?”<br/>“She’s notorious for it. I’ve experienced it only too many times, except she was offering me time off. And I don’t think I’ve ever actually received any of it.”<br/>“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”<br/>“I know. I hate the woman. She’s never done anything fair for me and no matter what I do it doesn’t change. She does it because my father and I are powerful. We’re the strongest agents she has, and now she has you as well, and I know for a fact she doesn’t want to lose us, because we’ll do so much good for the commission. She only wants power, and it’s starting to hurt.”</p><p>April thought she was going to lose all composure right then and there. She never spoke out about her work life in such a way before. Yes, she complained to Magnus, who completely understands her, and yes, she got mad at the Handler for the way she was treating her, but nothing was ever done, only because the Handler was power-hungry, a term that April never failed to use to describe her.<br/>April looked to Five and saw he wore a look of concern.<br/>“I don’t mean to make the job seem so bad, though I’m not wrong, it’s just getting to a point where I’m sick of it. And yeah, Dad understands completely but even he can’t do a lot. We may be centuries older than her but at the end of the day she’s the boss. I’m sorry if I got a bit heavy on you-”<br/>“It’s fine. Seriously.” Five said. “I don’t want to kill people, either. I don’t want to be an assassin. I only took the offer so I could leave the apocalypse, and I’m only going to follow through with it until I see fit to leave. Right now it’s too early to tell what could cause it. So I guess I’ll have to wait it out.” <br/>“Yeah. I’ll try and make it less bad for you.” April said, standing up. “I don’t like seeing the people I care about unhappy.”<br/>“So you do care about me?” Five whirled around in his seat to face April as she walked into the kitchen. April paused and looked back at Five.<br/>“Of course I do! You’re my friend, and whether you like it or not I’m going to treat you that way, because you deserve better than whatever shit the Handler gave you.” she continued into the kitchen. As she poured herself a glass of chocolate milk, she heard Five say “I’m also wondering why it took her what, fourteen, fifteen years to get me?”</p><p>April paused. It didn’t take her long to work it out. And when she did, she slammed her hand against the counter.<br/>“Aha! Oh I am so going to get her for this!”<br/>“What! What is it?!” Five called eagerly. April grabbed her chocolate milk and returned to the couch. <br/>“Okay, so you were in the apocalypse for how long?”<br/>“Forty five years.”<br/>“Right. And how were you feeling before the Handler arrived?”<br/>“I was losing hope, honestly.” Five said.<br/>“Naturally.” April paused to have some chocolate milk. “So the Handler came along at the perfect time, right when you were giving up, and she offered you a way back. Did she tell you what you would need to do?”<br/>“Yeah, and I didn’t care, I just wanted to leave.”<br/>April looked at Five. “Are you starting to see her strategy?”<br/>Five’s eyes widened slightly. “She waited until I was at my weakest-”<br/>“Until you were most desperate to leave, so there was no way you would deny the offer-”<br/>“And that way she could use me!” Five leaned back and sighed. “That bitch-”<br/>“She never wanted to save you for the sake of saving you. She saw a business opportunity. Another reason why I will kill her some day.”<br/>“Yeah, count me in” Five said. He paused for a moment, and his face fell.<br/>“I suffered. I suffered for what, half of my life just so she could turn me into something I never wanted to be. A killer.”<br/>For once April wasn’t entirely sure what to say. She wanted to sympathize, but couldn’t find a way to put it into words. <br/>“Do I really have to do this?” Five said weakly. He stared hopelessly at the ceiling.<br/>“Unfortunately y-”<br/>“Yeah, I know.” Five snapped. “It’s just too much to take in right now. Look, I- I need to rest.” Five stood up hastily and headed for his bedroom. April stayed seated on the couch, still processing Five’s sudden change of emotions. She looked at where he once sat, wishing she had said something more.</p><p>“What use is it anyway.” she muttered, standing up. “I’m no good at talking to people. Just another shit trait about me- Max?”<br/>April scanned the floor. Max was nowhere to be seen. Instead of panicking, April looked to the ceiling, and found a bright blue face looking down at her.<br/>“Hewwo Apwil!” Max giggled. He was sitting happily on the ceiling. April reached up and grabbed Max, who continued to laugh.<br/>“Ssshh, Five’s resting!”<br/>“Where bwotha?” Max said, tilting his head like a confused puppy.<br/>“I just told you, resting.” April said, picking up a random dinosaur and walking to the door. “C’mon, you’re having a nap.”<br/>“I don wan dat one!” Max said sulkily. He waved a chubby hand and the dinosaur April held flew out of her hand, and was replaced with a blue and orange plush triceratops, which zoomed all the way from under the dining table.<br/>April rolled her eyes irritably and carried Max down to the bottom apartment, where she placed him in his bedroom which was painted a pale shade of, you guessed it, blue. <br/>“Bu- bu I alweady had a nap!” Max complained. April sighed and rubbed her temples, in an attempt to stay sane.<br/>“Okay, you don’t have to have a nap right now, but I’d like it if you did. Dad and Papa will be back soon, so I need you to be really good, and have a nap before they come home. Okay?”<br/>Everything April had just said would have been far too much for any mundane 1 year old to handle. But Max, who had already developed a very good vocabulary, took on her words with ease.<br/>“Okay!”<br/>“And stay in here please. We don’t want Papa to be angry if you break something.”<br/>Max nodded, and waddled across the room to a basket of toys. As April left the room, she took a final look back at her little brother, who gazed up at her. <br/>“I will be good Apwil, I pwomise!”<br/>“Thank you, Blueberry.” April smiled, and closed the door behind her.</p><p>April re-entered her apartment and heaved a sigh of relief.<br/>“Thank the angel, that child can behave…”<br/>She crossed the living room, which was still littered with the usual remains of Max’s warpath, and entered the kitchen to find Five’s half-eaten sandwich.</p><p><i>Poor guy. The amount of pressure he must be under right now...</i><br/>April retrieved a plate from a cupboard, placed the sandwich, along with a second one she retrieved magically, on it and left it on the kitchen counter where he could find it if he ever emerged from the bedroom. For a moment she looked in the direction of Five’s room, still wishing she could have done something better to comfort him. But it was hard to try and understand what he had been through. Hell didn’t provide the nicest of experiences, but April didn’t see it as worse than being stuck at the end of the world. In Hell, there are creatures that walk about that aren’t the friendliest, but there is a way out, if those within it are skilled enough to make it. Whereas, in a post apocalyptic wasteland, there was no way out, even for someone capable of time travel, there always comes a risk with meddling with time. And what is worse, in the apocalypse, there is <i>no one</i>. Not only was there that, but everything else that had been thrown onto Five. April wanted to make him feel better, she didn’t want to see him upset. She may have met him only less than 24 hours ago, but she felt that she had learnt enough about him to at least want to help him adjust to life better. Or was there something more in it?</p><p>Having no other plans for the remaining day, April collected her earbuds, which sat on the dining table, then lay down on the couch. She sent Magnus a quick text message explaining Max’s whereabouts, then resumed listening to music, which she hadn’t done since the previous morning. She placed her phone on her stomach and closed her eyes, focusing only on the music, humming along every so often. It was as if she was returning home after a long day at work. A long day that could only be cured with what April loved most.</p><p>
  <i>Nobody's comin' to save me<br/>Nobody knows any better, anyway<br/>I think we're thinkin' the same thing<br/>If this is how it ends, I wasn't listenin'...</i>
</p><p>~~~</p><p>“April! April, wake up!”<br/>April awoke to find herself still on the couch, her earbuds still somehow playing music. Only inches from her face was Magnus, who had been shaking her.<br/>“Yeah, alright I’m awake! Where did my fluffy blanket come from?” April sat up and found that her favourite fluffy blanket had been draped on top of her. <br/>“Now’s not the time to worry about that, you’re late.”<br/>“Late? For wha-” April stood up and saw Five waiting anxiously by the front door, and then her mind clicked.<br/>“Shit!”<br/>“Yeah, shit. You’re supposed to be in the Handler’s office. Nearly ten minutes ago.” Magnus said, disappointed, but unsurprised. He handed April a glass of chocolate milk, which she downed in seconds. <br/>“Ugh, I’m so sorry for sleeping in, Five.”<br/>“It’s alright. Let’s just get this over with.” Five said shakily. April flicked her wrist and a portal formed next to the door. As she approached it, she heard Magnus say “Be careful, hun!”<br/>“You know I will, dad.” she threw him a quick smile. <br/>As she stepped through the portal, she glanced back to find Five wordlessly stepping though, as if it were a spacial jump with a tiny bit more to it. </p><p>The portal ended out in a corridor, with only a single door. Once the last few wisps of magic had faded from view, April turned to Five, who was still looking apprehensive.<br/>“You alright?”<br/>Five was staring at the floor again. “I just don’t want to do this. That’s all.”<br/>“I can’t perfectly imagine how you must be feeling, but I’ll tell you this. It’s over before you know it. And afterwards maybe we could go and do something? Maybe go to the park, or something, just to get some fresh air?”<br/>It was a spur of the moment idea, but April felt that it was a good one.<br/>Five nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I think that would be good.” he gave April a weak smile.</p><p>Together they headed for the door, April, who reached it first, didn’t even bother to knock and instead entered without hesitation.<br/>“You’re la-”<br/>“Late, we know.” April cut off the Handler, who was reclining at her desk, a cigarette in hand. She wore an expression of near disappointment.<br/>“To be frank with you, I’m not surprised that my top agents have both failed to arrive on time to their first assignment. Did you even train yesterday?”<br/>“That’s none of your business. And quit using that tone, we’re not children.”<br/>“I’ll take that as a no.” The Handler said, exhaling a puff of smoke. “But despite your tardy arrival, you still have a fair amount of time to complete the task.”<br/>“Just tell us what it is.” Five said impatiently.<br/>“As you wish.” the Handler said, smirking. April responded with a dirty look. The Handler drew a sheet of paper from a tray on her desk and held it out. Five took it and read it aloud.<br/>“Eliminate Daren Rigby. Who the hell is this guy?”<br/>“Owner of a diner back in the late 1950s. His brother was one of a number of congressman initially willing to vote against the creation of N.A.S.A, and eliminate the possibility of the US ever reaching the moon. From what I have gathered, something along the lines of a family bet or something stupid like that, Daren’s death should in one way or another, certify the creation of the organisation and further aid the United States in winning the space race.” The Handler explained. She made a smug grin at the sight of Five’s widened eyes.<br/>“This task shouldn’t be too hard for you two to complete.” The Handler continued, lifting a briefcase onto the desk before her. She also drew a gun from a drawer and placed it next to the briefcase. “You will be sent to July 27th 1958, and will have until nightfall before the briefcase makes a return. Good luck.” </p><p>April took the briefcase and left the office, Five close behind her with the gun in hand<br/>“This won’t be any different to you. You’ve time travelled before.” April said, flicking a small switch on the briefcase.<br/>“Of course I have.” Five said, pocketing the gun in an inner pocket on his blazer. “Now how does this work?”<br/>“Just take my hand.”<br/>Five took hold of April’s hand. It was warm and almost comforting. April couldn’t help but look briefly at Five, who was looking back at her. She had a sudden inclination to look back at the briefcase as it emitted blur flashes, and eventually the corridor faded from view, and was replaced with the scenery of Washington, only around seven decades younger. </p><p>April looked around to find that they had landed at the opening of an alleyway, and were looking out at a diner across the street. Five unfolded the sheet of paper and looked down at it.<br/>“Matches the photos.” he said, looking at the diner. “What’s the time?”<br/>“Uh, hold on.” April drew her phone from her pocket, and found that the date and time had adjusted, despite being decades before it’s manufacturing. It was also low in battery.<br/>“How’s that possible?” Five said, looking down at the phone.<br/>“Dad worked a bit of magic.” April said, pocketing the phone. “It’s 4:15 in the afternoon.”<br/>“Right. So it says here that this guy finishes work at 5pm, so I guess we go in, hang around until he leaves, then also leave without looking too conspicuous. Then I’ll bet there's another alley or something behind the diner, and that’s where we’ll get him.”<br/>April looked at Five, impressed. “You’re pretty good at working this stuff out!”<br/>“Uh, thanks.” Five said, folding up the sheet of paper. “Should we go in?”<br/>April nodded, and together she and Five crossed the street and headed into the diner. There was something about 50s diners that April always enjoyed, but she could never pinpoint what it was. Was it the outfits that staff wore? Was it the music? Or the interior design? Who knew.</p><p>They found a booth that was far away from the counter, but provided a good enough view of what was going on.<br/>“I used to come to these places all the time.” April said, looking around. She couldn’t help but smile. “Working for a time agency does have its perks. Stuff like this.” she gestured around her.<br/>“I forgot that you actually existed in this time period.” Five said. He reached for the drinks menu.<br/>“Tell me they have chocolate milkshakes.” April said eagerly.<br/>Five nodded and grinned.<br/>April did a small happy dance in her seat. Five looked up from the menu.<br/>“You shouldn’t be this happy, we’re about to commit murder.”<br/>“Keep your voice down. And I’m allowed to be happy about chocolate milkshakes!” April said defensively, though she couldn’t help but grin.</p><p>It wasn’t long before a waitress in a bright yellow dress approached the table with a notepad in hand.<br/>“Can I get you two anything?”<br/>April was quick to order a chocolate milkshake, and Five a black coffee. April also ordered a bowl of fries to share. Once the waitress had left, the two of them finally started to look for their target.<br/>“He’s behind the counter.” Five said, glancing from the paper back to the counter, behind which a joyful looking man stood, talking to a customer. <br/>“Aw, it’s always worse when they look to be happy people.” April pouted and slid down her seat until her head was level with the table. <br/>Five sighed and folded away the paper once again. “It’s just what has to be done.” he said with difficulty. “Can you sit up? I want to talk to more than a set of eyes.”<br/>April sat up and rested her head in her hands. <br/>“What d’you want to talk about?”<br/>“I don’t actually know. I’d just prefer looking at your entire face.”<br/>“Really?” April tilted her head like Max did when he was curious.<br/>“Well, yeah. You do look like a friendly person. When you’re not setting stuff on fire.”<br/>April raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “No one has ever told me that. Usually I feel that I give off a less-friendly vibe. I guess I’m wrong.”<br/>“Well at least <i>I</i> think you do. You’re quite deceiving, because sometimes you look incredibly innocent, like around your family. But in reality you’re, well, a merciless being from Hell. No offence-”<br/>“None taken.” April said, keeping one eye on the counter. “You’re right. I either like someone or I don’t. For example you, you’re genuinely a cool guy and you’re my friend. Whereas someone such as the Handler, or my grandfather, I would kill them the first chance I get. There is no in between. The only reason neither of those people are dead yet is because the repercussions can be serious.”</p><p>The conversation was interrupted by the waitress returning with their orders. April had to suppress a squeal of delight and instead smiled until it physically hurt to at the arrival of her chocolate milkshake. Five looked at her with vague amusement.<br/>“Are you doing that just to appear more like a child? Or-”<br/>“No this is my genuine reaction.” April said, still grinning. “I love chocolate milkshakes!” She took a sip and smiled even more. “And it’s even better when you’re given the opportunity to go back to the 50s and experience only <i>the best</i> chocolate milkshakes ever to exist.”<br/>“Just from the 50s?”<br/>“Yeah. There’s just something about them that I love.”<br/>“I’ll take your word for it. If we ever end up in the 50s again, I’ll try one.”<br/>“Really?”<br/>“Really. You seem to know your stuff.”<br/>April couldn’t help but grin. She then proceeded to take a fry, dip it into her milkshake and happily eat it.<br/>Five nearly spat out his coffee. “Nevermind. You’re insane.” he said, jabbing a finger over the table.<br/>April laughed. “I take that as a compliment.”</p><p>For a brief second the two of them simply smiled at each other. April felt elated, she had only known Five for almost three days, but he felt like a better friend than a large handful of the people she had met throughout her life. She had no idea why it all felt that way, but she was happy to see that Five wasn’t uncomfortable, or scared of her, moreover. So many people that she had met, even for a short moment in time, had become fearful of her in one way or another. She never blamed any of them for it, and she didn’t even know whether to blame herself, because back then a lot of what she did was still beyond her control, and it was the cause of so many ruined friendships. The thought of it made her anxious, and she probably showed it, because as she turned to look up at the counter, she caught a glimpse of Five’s face, wearing a look of concern.</p><p>The next twenty or so minutes were spent eating and talking about the concept of time travel. Five went on about time calculations, and it reached a point where April had to stop him.<br/>“I don’t understand all those big words.”<br/>“Seriously? You work for a time agency!”<br/>“Which means nothing! All I do is go to these places, kill people and or demons, then go home and sleep!”<br/>Five shook his head in disbelief. “Of all people I would have thought you would know this kind of stuff.”<br/>“Well you thought wrong.” April said, suppressing a laugh. She looked over at a clock above the counter, where their target still stood, serving customers.<br/>“About six minutes to go. He could leave any minute now.” <br/>Five turned to look at the counter. “Surprisingly, I’m not panicking as much as I thought I would be.”<br/>“You’ll be fine,” April said she lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “I’ll make light work of it for you, and all you’ll need to do is pull the trigger.”<br/>“Got it.”</p><p>The two of them watched as Daren finished talking with a customer, then headed for what they assumed was the back room. April looked to Five, who nodded, and together they got up to leave. April made sure to leave a tip, and take one final fry before following Five out of the diner. Without saying a word, Five grabbed April’s wrist and the two of them blinked into an alley behind the diner. <br/>“I think I prefer portals” April said, shaking her head.<br/>“You’ll get used to it.” Five said. “Your eyes are turning orange.”<br/>“Rightfully so.” April said, as she stood next to the only door in the alley, and placed the briefcase next to her. She also felt her canine teeth growing. “Are the fangs seriously necessary?”<br/>“Can’t you do anything about it?”<br/>“No.” April said saltily. “Stand at the other side of the door. When it opens it’ll hide you, long enough for me to get him.”<br/>Five nodded and leaned against the wall, a hand in his blazer, holding the gun. April tossed a few wisps of magic in her hands, waiting to strike as soon as that door opened.</p><p>They didn’t need to wait long, for it was only a minute or so after they arrived, that the door swung open and their target stepped out. <br/>April wasted no time. She leapt forward and jabbed her elbow into his back, knocking him to the ground. She used a glowing orange strand of magic to tie his wrists, which slowly started to burn. She kept a knee digging into his back as Five stepped out and pointed the gun to Daren’s head. April saw a look on his face that was unlike what she had seen before. He looked dangerous, with an evil grin that seemed to only increase his sense of pride, his teeth shining like the metal of the gun in the sunset. April returned the grin.<br/>“Please! What are you kids doing! I didn’t do anything! let me go!” Daren struggled, but April kneeled on his back harder.<br/>“You’ll keep your damn mouth shut” she snarled.<br/>“Please, no! Just let me go!”<br/>“Sorry sir, no can do.” April said maliciously. She forced his head against the concrete, and Five stepped closer. <br/>“PLEASE! STOP!”</p><p>BANG</p><p>April fel the body go limp, and she stood up. She and Five were covered in blood. <br/>“I forgot to mention,” she said, panting a little. “The job can be quite messy.”<br/>“Yeah no shit.” Five said, pocketing the gun. “Well that was easy. He didn’t put up much of a fight.”<br/>“Yeah I didn’t expect him to.” April said, looking down at the body. “Body removal service will get him later, that or the police will find him and it’ll be just another cold case. Lets get out of here.”<br/>April grabbed the briefcase and took Five’s hand, which was shaking slightly. She flipped a switch on the briefcase and in a matter of seconds, they found themselves back in the corridor they started in.<br/>“If she’s not satisfied,” April said, heading for the Handler’s office, “I’ll blow up this briefcase, right in her face.”<br/>Five laughed, and he followed April into the office, where the Handler sat, just as she had when they left.</p><p>“Well done.” She said, smiling. “Took you two less than an hour, I’m impressed.”<br/>“It really wasn’t that hard.” April said impatiently, slamming the briefcase on the desk. Her eyes still flickered orange.<br/>“I knew it wouldn’t be.” The Handler said, taking the briefcase. “You two did well, by far our best agents. I feel others would overcomplicate such a simple task like that. From now on, your missions will be more difficult, but I find that you two will do just fine. You’re free to go.”<br/>April and Five left without another word, and portaled back to the apartment, where Magnus was sitting on the couch, reading a book.</p><p>“What are you doing in my apartment?”<br/>“It’s mine, too hun. How did it go?”<br/>“It was easy.”<br/>“Good. It didn’t put any more strain on your muscles, did it?” Magnus closed the book.<br/>“No.”<br/>“Also good.” Magnus stood up and headed for the door. “We’ll resume some light training tomorrow, and Five, you’ll be coming as well.” As he left, he flicked his wrist, and the blood vanished from both April and Five’s bodies.<br/>“Couldn’t you have done that yourself?” Five asked, taking off his blazer and collapsing onto the couch.<br/>“I’ve never been good at them. I ruined one of my favourite shirts because I tried the spell and all I did was make the stain worse. And from now on I prefer not to take the risk.”<br/>“That makes sense.” Five said. “Y’know, despite not enjoying the whole killing thing, it’s nice knowing we’re the best at it.”<br/>“Yeah, you can’t help but have a sense of pride.” April said, she sat cross-legged on the floor, “And as a born killer, it’s only better. Except every so often I’ll have these moments of guilt, but only ever over the people I’ve killed. Never the demons. Because they have every reason to die, unlike people just going about their lives.”<br/>“I think I understand that.” Five said. “The guilt will probably creep up to me later, when I’m left alone with my thoughts.”<br/>“It always does.” April sighed. “D’you want to sit around for a bit, or would you rather we went to the park?”<br/>Despite appearing incredibly comfortable on the couch, Five stood up. “I wouldn’t mind going out. It’ll take my mind off things. And besides, I haven’t walked through anything remotely close to nature in almost half a century.”<br/>“Alright then.” April said, smiling and standing up. “As you wish. D’you think you can blink us there?”<br/>“Could do.” Five said. He crossed the room over to a window that looked in the direction of Central Park. “Now that I can see it,” he said, holding out his hand, “I definitely can.”</p><p>April walked up to him and took his hand, and within a second, they were standing in Central Park, which was emptier than usual. April watched as Five strolled over to the nearest tree and touched it. As she walked up to join him, he said “Wow, an actual tree.”<br/>“I guess there weren’t many in the apocalypse?”<br/>“None.” Five said, still running his palm across the tree. “I didn’t see plants growing back until about 15 years into my stay. I remember being so happy, because it wasn’t just a stray plant, it was a dandelion, and there was something so wonderful about seeing a flower for the first time in so long, it gave me some hope.”<br/>“It makes me happy knowing you had some kind of hope while you were stuck there.” April said. “I hate to draw it to myself but I can’t help but wish Hell had provided rays of hope like that. It would’ve made things so much better.”<br/>“What’s it like there?”<br/>“You seriously want me to tell you about that? Now?” April raised her brows.<br/>“Well, I’ve already confided in you with a few things, all you’ve said is that Hell is, well, different.”<br/>April sighed and looked uneasily at Five.<br/>“It’s not something I’d want to talk about right now. Not while we’re out here. C’mon, it’s a nice day.” she lightly tugged at Five’s sleeve.<br/>“Alright. But you know bottling up emotions isn’t good for you.” Five said.<br/>“Five, I’ve been doing that for over two centuries. I’m a walking mess.”<br/>“Then let’s be walking messes together and walk around this park. We’ll revisit this later.” Five said. April couldn’t help but smile at him as the two of them began walking through the park. He really was one of a kind, with and without a gun.</p><p>For a while the two of them walked in silence, simply enjoying everything around them. Every so often, April would run and jump up, trying to touch the leaves that hung over the path, happy just to be outside and free. Five strolled behind her, eagerly looking around at his surroundings. For him, there was probably so much for him to take in, to finally be in a place so full of colour and fresh air. After attempting to touch some high up leaves, and failing, April whirled around to face Five.<br/>“How’s all of this making you feel?” she stopped so Five could catch up to her.<br/>“I don’t know how to put it into words. The air, all of these trees. I’m more than happy-”<br/>“Elated.” April suggested. “I’d say that word fits. But you know what’s better than this?”<br/>“I didn’t think anything could beat it at this point.” Five said.<br/>April grinned. “The beach.” she said. “Imagine being on a beach, miles away from all of this. Think of how wonderful the air would be, that refreshing water. Wait, imagine being there whilst the sun was setting, oh that would be beautiful!” she smiled widely and jumped around. When she looked back at Five, he was smiling, too. <br/>“I’ll take it that-”<br/>“I love the beach!” April exclaimed. “I absolutely love it. And if you have the right music, it’s even better.”<br/>Five gave a small laugh. “You are the most energetic old woman I have ever met.”<br/>“I take that as a compliment. But I think you’d love the beach. I went to one way on the other side of the world with Dad. It was in New Zealand, and it was just incredible at sunset.”<br/>“I’ve uh, never been to a beach before.” Five said. April stopped in her tracks.<br/>“Okay, you know what? If you manage to stop that apocalypse, and if we’re still friends, or not, I will drag you to a beach. You can <i>not</i> go nearly 60 years of your life without going to a beach. I will not let that happen.” April said, eyeing Five, who didn’t protest. <br/>“I won’t complain. You make the beach sound like fun.” He smiled, and April smiled back.</p><p>“You said you travelled, what was that like?” Five continued. <br/>“It was really interesting, actually. A real rollercoaster. Dad’s taken me almost everywhere. I swear, he has a house in every major city, and at least 3 cats at each.”<br/>“Tell me you’re joking.”<br/>“No, I’m not. Just you wait until you’ve been around my Dad long enough, he’s more than that dignified warlock he appears to be. You would think he’s a completely different person.”<br/>“You mean that in a good way?”<br/>“Of course! I will admit, sometimes he’s a bit annoying, always wanting me to train and what not, but at the end of the day, it’s really for my own good, and so shit doesn’t go wrong.”<br/>“Right.”<br/>“I love my dad, I really do! And so does he to me, but after nearly 250 years, I don’t really know how to word it.”<br/>“I think I know what you mean. But back to travelling. Tell me more about it.”</p><p>April went on to tell Five about the places she had been to, and what strange downworlders she encountered on the way. Five listened to every word, and from what she could see, he was in awe. After she went on about one of her numerous trips through rainforests, the conversation somehow turned to favourite animals.<br/>“Okay here’s a question for you.” Five said, as they started their third lap around the same section of the park, “How many times has your favourite animal changed throughout your life?”<br/>April grinned. “Surprisingly, it’s only changed once. Ironically, I grew up with cats as my favourite animal, because I was surrounded by them, even back in the 1800s.”<br/>Five’s eyes widened. “Your dad has quite the obsession.”<br/>“Don’t blame him though, his warlock mark is literally cat eyes.”<br/>“Ah, I see.”<br/>“Anyway, I was sure that cats would always be my favourite animal, until I went to an aquarium some time in the early 1990s when I was about 221 or something like that, and I discovered jellyfish.”<br/>“Jellyfish?”<br/>“Yeah. Jellyfish. They’re my absolute favourite.”<br/>Five laughed a little. “What’s so cool about jellyfish?”<br/>“Everything! Some of them are small, some of them are huge, they can have cool colours, and some of them even glow! All that and they just blob around without a care in the world! And if I’m perfectly honest, I could watch jellyfish blob around in a nicely decorated tank for hours.” April said in all joyful seriousness.<br/>“But they sting people.” Five pointed out.<br/>“So?! That’s if you’re mean to them! Jellyfish are still cute!” <br/>Five laughed some more. “Alright, if you say so. I’ve just never seen jellyfish from that point of view.”<br/>“I don’t think many people have.” April said, laughing. “But what’s your favourite animal? You’ve got to have one.”<br/>“I’ve always liked dogs.” Five said. “They make such loyal pets. As a kid I always wished that we had a pet. But Dad was never that kind of person.”<br/>April half smiled. “Aw, I feel like any dog to be adopted into a family of seven kids would be incredibly lucky. I myself don’t really know what it’s like being around a dog. I’ve grown up around so many cats.”<br/>“I still can’t believe how obsessed your Dad is with cats. Especially with that small one.”<br/>“Chairman is his favourite, and he’s proud to show it.” April said, laughing a little. “There’s something about that tiny little cat that has him head over heels. He even owns a few cats bred by like, only 2 people in the world, but he’ll always choose the chairman, a domestic cat you’d find almost anywhere.”<br/>“Your dad really is one of a kind.”<br/>“He is. One of the best, if I do say so myself. So many people would agree with me. And just all-round unique. Personality and power-wise.”<br/>“I’m guessing that’s what being blood-related to a greater demon does? Power wise, I mean.”<br/>April nodded. <br/>“But how-”<br/>“I don’t know.” April said. She knew exactly what Five was going to ask. Something that numerous downworlders had always asked her. “You can’t control genetics. But as far as we know, it was just a regular demon. Unless there’s something that we haven’t found out, but I doubt it. I just got unlucky.” she felt her mood drop ever so slightly. Even the slightest talk about her past seemed to only add difficulty.</p><p>“I’m sorry if it touched a nerve-”<br/>“It’s fine. Not a day goes by where I don’t see something from times I’d rather forget. It’s just become part of my life.”<br/>“I know the feeling.”<br/>“I guess you could say we’re traumatic childhood buddies.” April said.<br/>Five laughed. “I guess that’s one way you could put it. We’re traumatic childhood buddies.”<br/>For a moment, the two of them just laughed. What a stupid title for something so serious. It felt kind of cool to April, how she was suddenly able to relate to someone, in such a similar yet unique situation. And to actually feel <i>okay</i> talking to someone about just the tip of the iceberg, she started to wonder what it would be like actually dig deeper, and let out feelings she had held onto for decades and decades… But she didn’t want to seem like a burden, or inconsiderate of whoever she was talking to, even if they were to insist that it was alright, there was always some kind of guilt to go with it. How couldn’t there be?</p><p>The laughter faded into silence once again, where April couldn’t help but notice a smile lingering on Five’s face, and there was something about seeing that small, lingering smile that was apparently contagious, because she found herself smiling back at him.<br/>“How come you’re so smiley?” Five asked, still grinning. <br/>“Well, if I’m completely honest, it’s because you seem to be enjoying yourself. And I’m happy for you.” <br/>“I think that’s very sweet.” </p><p>It wasn’t much longer before Five and April retreated back into the apartment, where Five became fascinated with the evolution of mundane television shows.<br/>“I don’t understand the point in channels simply for music videos. What even is the point in a music video?” Five exclaimed at one point, after being taught how to use the remote and flip through channels.<br/>“Well, contrary to your obvious opinion,” April said, walking into the room, cuddling a very content Chairman Meow, “I like it. I use it to listen to music when earbuds are impractical. I don’t listen to this channel, though. The other one plays music more to my taste.”<br/>Five didn’t spend any more time dwelling on music channels. He eventually settled for some mundane action movie that he seemed to be watching just because nothing else interesting seemed to be on. Every so often he would comment on the quality of the film, to which April would respond with a laugh or a comment to back him up. What made the situation funnier for April was that she had decided to lie on the couch and pat the Chairman facing away from the television, meaning she had no idea what Five was talking about.<br/>“Well that was a shit decision, he’s definitely going to die now-”<br/>“-And that was a poor choice of weapon. That blunt knife will make a messy cut but if you really want to kill her you’ll need something sharper-”<br/>“Blood is not that orange. I literally killed a guy today and it looked <i>nothing</i> like this crapshoot.”<br/>Once the movie was over, and April had tried not to laugh too hard numerous times, Five switched channels</p><p>
  <i>”Previously on Keeping up with the Kardashians”</i>
</p><p>“What the hell is this shit!?”<br/>This time, April lost it. <br/>“What are you laughing at?!”<br/>“That is the worst show ever to exist on earth.” April said though giggles. She magicked the remote into her hand and switched off the tv. “To sum it up, rich women screaming at each other over minor inconveniences. And they’re all filled with plastic.”<br/>Five shook his head disapprovingly. “Television’s just gotten worse since I left.”</p><p>April was about to complain about how shitty reality shows had become, when she was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Magnus strolled inside. <br/>“Alec and I have work to do later tonight, don’t worry about Max, look after the Chairman, don’t stay up too late because you will probably be working longer and harder tomorrow and we don’t need a repeat of this morning, got it?”<br/>April groaned. “Got it.” she said unenthusiastically.<br/>“I also can’t be bothered cooking. You want take out for dinner?<br/>“I’m cool with that.” Five said.<br/>“You can just snap your fingers and make a full meal, Dad.” April pointed out.<br/>“Let me rephrase. I can’t be bothered snapping my fingers to make a meal.” Magnus said, picking up Chairman Meow and cuddling him.<br/>“Dad, you’re unbelievable.” April said, once again rubbing her temples with her hands.<br/>“April, do you want take out or not.”<br/>“Fine! All I’m saying is you’re a whole other level of lazy.”<br/>“Too right you are.” Magnus said, giving the Chairman a kiss on the head. “I’m going to go try and get Max to have a nap. He’s been flying around the apartment all day.”<br/>“Good luck with that.” April said, smirking.<br/>“I’ll need it.” Magnus responded as he reached the door.<br/>“Oh, and Dad?”<br/>“Yeah?” Magnus whirled around to face April. <br/>“Be safe please.”<br/>“I will, firefly.” he cast one last smile at April before disappearing from view.</p><p>“That’s a nice nickname. Firefly.” Five said.<br/>April grinned. “Yeah. He had a similar nickname for Max. Blueberry.”<br/>“I wonder where he got that from.” Five said, smiling. “I could never see my father doing that. He couldn’t even be bothered naming us in the first place. All he ever cared about was our potential, and our destiny to ‘save the world’ or whatever.”<br/>“Why didn’t you get a name?”<br/>“I didn’t get one.”<br/>“What?” April looked perplexed.<br/>“I ran away before they were given names. I only learnt that they were named because I found this in the future.” Five drew a book out of the inner pocket of his blazer and handed it to April. The book was titled <i>Extraordinary. My Life as Number Seven</i>.<br/>“You know how I said my sister Vanya was always left out? Because she’s ordinary?”<br/>April nodded and flipped through the book. A lot of the pages were covered with calculations, some of them covering the text.<br/>“Yeah well she went and wrote that. I don’t exactly know how my siblings felt about it, but to be honest I was pretty shaken. It’s how I learnt my brother Ben died.”<br/>April closed the book. “Shit, Five I’m so sorry-”<br/>“It’s fine.” Five said. “I don’t know exactly how it happened, but he probably had it the worst out of us all. His power was this portal in his stomach where he could summon eldritch monsters. He hated it.”<br/>“My god-”<br/>“It was no wonder I couldn’t find his body in the apocalypse. I couldn’t find Vanya’s either-”<br/>“Five, I’m so sorry you had to see that, your family-”<br/>“That wasn’t all that I found.”<br/>April could see that Five was looking a bit uncomfortable, but talking seemed to be doing him some good. “What else did you find?”<br/>“I don’t know if I should say it.” Five was avoiding eye contact.<br/>“I won’t force you to. Only if it’ll make you feel better.”<br/>“It won’t if I keep hiding it.”<br/>“Hiding?” April looked at Five, confused.<br/>Five stared at the floor. He sighed heavily. “I-I found your body, too.”<br/>“You what?”<br/>“I had no idea who you were at the time, I just thought you were another person. But when I met you, there was something so familiar feeling about you. And when I went to bed that night it hit me.”<br/>April was lost for words.<br/>“You and your dad. I found you near my family. Shit, I shouldn’t have said anything-”<br/>April cut him off. “No. It was probably better that you said it. It would have done no good staying in your head.”<br/>“You’re right,” Five said, “When I first saw your powers I had a fleeting thought that maybe it was you, that ended the world, but then I figured it wouldn’t work. I’m sorry if you took offence to that-”<br/>“I was thinking the same thing.” April said with a smirk. “I overheard my grandfather tell my dad ‘she’s so powerful she could end everything as we know it’ when I was very little. So naturally that was the conclusion I jumped to.”<br/>“Well,” Five said, finally looking up. “There was fire everywhere. But no, it can’t have been you.”<br/>April shook her head. She found herself less stunned than she thought she would be. Maybe it was a tiny ray of hope that she had? Otherwise she would have found herself petrified of what the future held. Death was something that had terrified her for as long as she could remember.<br/>“You don’t seem too shocked.” Five said. “Are you-”<br/>“Fine, I’m fine.” April said. “I guess I know that you’re trying to stop it, that’s what’s stopping me from freaking out.”<br/>“I have a lead that is probably useless for at least another year or so. And yet you have faith in me?”<br/>“Yeah, I do.” April looked to Five and gave him a half-smile. “There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?<br/>“Not at all. Nobody’s had faith in me in a long time. Thank you.” Five returned a wider smile.</p><p>There was something about making Five feel better that elevated April. It was probably knowing of what he dealt with in the past, and how much he didn’t deserve to experience it again. And seeing that Five appreciated some of the things she said and did for him, it warmed her heart in a way that nothing else ever did.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hiii! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!</p><p>I'm just gonna leave the title of any songs that I reference in the chapter, because I feel that I'll be doing that more in the future.</p><p>- Can't wait to be dead: FINNEAS.</p><p>Thank you for reading the chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Disgrace to Edom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hiiii!<br/>Just a lil note this chapter may be a bit long. Originally, it was going to be longer but I thought I'd be nice and shorten it for ya. I really hope y'all enjoy this! This chapter was such an emotional rollercoaster to write in all honesty.</p><p>Enjoy! :)</p><p>~~<br/>Hey leave me and my oddly specific AU that means oh so much to me alone. It's my lil world I'm making here if you don't like what happens then simply don't read it. Yeah, it's that easy! I'm writing about this AU first and foremost for me, because my tiny little brain can't maintain all of the twists and turns that said AU brings. I also wanted to share some of my writing with the world for once because I never have and I just wanna see how it goes. This is also an excuse to give Five all of the tonnes and tonnes of love he so badly desperately deserves.<br/>~~<br/>This au includes aspects of the tua comics in places, and doesn’t perfectly follow the events of the shadowhunters series, due to certain parts that I’d like to have in the story. I am well aware of that, and I don’t plan to change it, because at the end of the day this is my au and I am doing whatever the heck I want with it. I’m writing this story for my own enjoyment first, and other people’s second.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Just as Magnus had said, work at the Commission only got longer and harder, and it was beginning to take a toll on both April and Five. The Handler called them for missions whenever she could, some of which would take days on end to complete. Though they always completed them to a high standard, it gained them a sometimes unwanted reputation at headquarters. And when the two of them weren’t out working, or catching very few hours of down time, they were training. Magnus sometimes appeared reluctant to train April, only ever on the days where she appeared especially short-tempered and aching. Even Five was starting to reach his limits in training, too. He would usually come out of it all incredibly tired, and would usually fall asleep on the couch. April had learned to hate training full stop. There was never a session where she didn’t find herself exerting so much force into her magic, that she left feeling more and more drained.</p><p>The work may have been tough and painful, but it also provided opportunities for April and Five to continue getting to know each other. There was a lack in talk about trauma, but more about small things about each other. Such as favourite books, opinions of different things, and other odd but interesting topics. April found that she had developed a stronger friendship with Five than with anyone else she had ever met. And because of that, she told herself to treasure that friendship, because she felt that it was one of the best she would ever have, she was right. April and Five constantly complained about work together, all while being able to come up with creative yet effective methods of killing their victims. Five grew more and more familiar with April’s abilities, but couldn’t help but be ever so scared when she performed something new. Nevertheless, Five always managed to adjust to it. </p><p>Despite it all feeling like it would never end, April and Five sometimes found pockets of hope, coming in the form of a few days off. The two of them would more than happily take that time, and use it to do absolutely nothing. To April, that consisted of laying down on the couch to rest her aching body, and dissociate with the world by listening to music. Sometimes she would find herself getting so lost in her favourite songs, she would unwillingly hum along, though Five never seemed to complain. He was usually found asleep, anyway. Sometimes in the armchair, other times, on the floor, right in the way. Once or twice, Max would stumble upon his new friend passed out on the ground, and April would have to take him elsewhere before he could wake poor Five.</p><p>And every so often, when the both of them thought “<i>Screw it, we’ll be fine at work tomorrow</i>”, they would stay up late and get lost in the strangest conversations ever, and boy was it fun. The amount of odd facts about each other they would pick up, how a discussion about one mission can turn into one about the best flavour of ice cream, it was all so much fun, and April was so glad to finally experience it. A lifetime of cutting herself off from others, being convinced that she was nothing but terrifying, had stopped her from enjoying so much, even after being convinced she had seen it all..</p><p>Those strange late night conversations were always fun, but now and again they would begin to take a dark turn. As it did one night around a month into working together. There was nothing previously talked about that even prompted it, just a few minutes of silence. And as reluctant as Five seemed to ask, he did.</p><p>“April, what happened in Hell?”<br/>April looked up from her phone, which she had started to aimlessly scroll through the internet on. Before answering, Five continued.<br/>“I’m only asking because, well, so many times you say certain things remind you of stuff you’d rather forget, and I just want to maybe understand that a bit better.”<br/>“I get that.” April said.<br/>“And as far as I know, you’ve never really talked to anyone about it, maybe it would make you feel a bit better? I’m not pressuring you to, of course.”<br/>April nodded and put her phone down. “You’re my friend because I trust you. And I <i>really</i> trust you. I’d prefer it if you didn’t repeat what I say to anyone else.”<br/>“You have my word.” Five said. He looked at April solemnly. </p><p>April sighed, he felt her heart rate grow. She had never talked to anyone in the way she was about to. But she was willing to finally share her feelings with someone else, something she never did with anyone except Magnus. <br/>“When I was younger, not even a century old. I still lacked serious control over my abilities. It was a problem. At this point in time, Dad and I lived away from anyone and anything. I couldn’t be left alone, I couldn’t go anywhere, my emotions were so easily triggered, I would blow everything out of proportion.”<br/>April looked up from the floor to make sure Five was paying attention, which he was. She didn’t want to feel like she was talking to nothing. Five nodded for her to go on.<br/>“I used to get angry because I couldn’t do anything without screwing up. Something would always end up in flames, I would take things the wrong way, just <i>something</i> always had to be shitty. And Dad was doing everything he could to keep it under control.”<br/>For a brief moment, April could see the panicked face of her Father. One moment pacing a bedroom, the next up close, trying to tell her everything was okay.<br/><i>”Come on now, Firefly. Take some deep breaths. Everything will be alright, sweetie-”<br/>“No! Nothing is alright!”</i><br/>April subconsciously recounted her words.<br/>“Nothing is alright.”<br/>Five seemed to already grow with concern.<br/>“Sometimes it was fine.” April admitted, trying to lighten her voice. “Sometimes I would go outside, And lie in the long grass on this hill by our home. They were such rare moments. But-”<br/>“But what?” Five asked.<br/>April didn’t notice she had stopped. She had started to see the past play out only too clearly in her head.<br/>“But then I would start to wish it would never end. I wished I wasn’t so fragile. And when Dad pulled me away to try and ‘fix’ me again, I would only make it worse. The one time that changed it all, Dad did nothing wrong, it was all my fault…”</p><p>
  <i>”April, listen to me!”<br/>“I’m trying Dad, I am!”<br/>“Try a bit harder then! You have it in you!”<br/>“Please stop yelling!”<br/>“It’s the only way this is working, April, come on now!”<br/>“I SAID STOP YELLING AT ME!”</i>
</p><p>April remembered exactly how it happened. Flames that once circled her were sent menacingly towards her father, only when they first brushed his skin did she notice what she had done…<br/>And when they cleared, his figure bent over, and straightening up to see the burn she had left on his face…</p><p>“I hurt him. I hurt him without even trying. He wouldn’t stop yelling, trying to get me to listen, to calm down, and in return I hurt him.” April stared at the floor. She felt numb as the sight of her injured father hovered in her mind. She didn’t even object to speaking again when Five asked,<br/>“And then what happened?”<br/>“Dad forgave me. Once I was in my right mind I did nothing but apologise. He told me he knew I didn’t mean it. But even to this day there’s a faint mark on his face where that burn was. But what he did afterwards, neither of us liked it, but it was the only reasonable choice.”</p><p>Her mind flicked to the sight of a figure at the front door. The pang of nausea that hit her, the fear that the sight of him gave her..<br/>“My grandfather turned up. I remember seeing how much Dad hated it. But if anyone knew why I was such a mess, it was probably him. But how wrong we were, Asmodeus only made everything worse.”</p><p>
  <i>”Try harder, woman! Concentrate!”<br/>“I’m trying to!”<br/>“Dad, this isn’t a good idea-”<br/>“Silence, Magnus. She just needs discipline.”<br/>“Discipline is not what I mean-”<br/>“I said silence! Come on, April, you cowardice-”<br/>“DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME A COWARD!”</i>
</p><p>“And guess what happened next?” April tried to smirk.<br/>“You lost it again?” <br/>She nodded. “I didn’t hurt him, he knew better than to let me do that. So when I lashed out, I don’t really remember the moment, but the last thing I saw was Dad’s face, he was so scared, terrified. And then-”<br/>April felt a lump in her throat, but she tried to swallow it.<br/>“And then I was in Hell. And it wasn’t my grandfather that greeted me.”<br/>“<i>Shit.</i>”<br/>“Of all of the princes I could have faced, I faced Lucifer.” April said weakly. The lump still sat in her throat, and she felt her palms begin to sweat. Five moved from the armchair over to the couch next to her.<br/>“He saw opportunity in me. He knew how powerful I was. And to him, that meant he could finally rid the world of those he hated, so he tried to transform me.”</p><p>Another flashback came to her. One that she hated above all else. <br/>She knelt at his feet, weak and tired, wanting nothing more than to go home.</p><p>
  <i>”Your loyalties will now lie with me, Bane.”<br/>“In your dreams.”<br/>“I’m not going to tell you again, girl. You’re mine now.”</i>
</p><p>Lucifer lifted a hand, a hand that held glowing red wisps of something April didn’t want to know. And before she knew it, she was doubled over, shrieking in pain.</p><p>
  <i>”DAD! DAD PLEASE HELP ME! MAKE IT STOP!</i>
</p><p>April had started to shake. <br/>“I don’t even remember what it was that he did to me. Some kind of torture. All I remember is that it hurt. Eventually I tried to fight back, and that was when I did something I had never done before. Something I don’t know how to explain.”<br/>April looked up at Five, who still had his eyes on her. <br/>“You can stop if you want. If it’s too much.”<br/>“No, I think it’s doing me some good.”<br/>“Alright. If you’re sure.” Five sighed and wore a look of concern.</p><p>April took a deep breath and continued.<br/>“What’s a downside to that is, there are some things that can easily disarm me, and he happened to know one. And then he tortured me again.”</p><p>
  <i>”STOP IT! STOP IT PLEASE!”</i>
</p><p>“He tried to alter my memories. To make sure I only answered to him. But as per usual, I disobeyed. I did everything I could to resist him.”</p><p>
  <i>”MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP IT HURTS! DAD HELP ME! DAD WHERE ARE YOU!?</i>
</p><p>Her own screams echoed in her head. Followed by Lucifer’s manic laugh. And more of her own shrieks.<br/>She wanted to cover her ears, maybe it would stop. But something stopped her from lifting her hands. Something deeper in her head telling her to keep talking, and that she’d feel better after it was all over. </p><p>“And then he left me there. I don’t know how long for. It hurt to move, so I just lay there, praying that the demons swooping above me would leave me alone. I couldn’t sleep, I would just have nightmares about what happened. And then eventually, Dad made it to where I was, and brought me home. He regretted ever getting Asmodeus involved, and this time, he was the one constantly apologising. And since then we’ve just been careful. I’m definitely more controlled, but I’m still fragile, I guess.”<br/>April sighed and leaned back on the couch. She felt shaken, but so much better. She had expressed her trauma to someone that actually <i>cared</i>, after so many damn years of losing friends before she could even explain to them who she even was. A battle inside her had finally ceased, and she could breathe freely again. </p><p>“You’re right.” Five said, “Hell is a different kind of pain.”<br/>“Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t make your trauma any less of what it is, It’s ju-”<br/>“It’s just different.” Five said. He didn’t sound bitter, or snarky about it, he said it caringly. Something still kind of new to April. Of course, Magnus always understood her, he knew her unlike anyone else did, except for very few things. But having someone outside of her family caring about how she felt, it was almost like a miracle.<br/>“Y-yeah. Essentially, if you’re a shadowhunter, downworlder, anything of the sort, there’s so many more opportunities to gain trauma. And you can’t just vent about it to anybody about it.” April found herself staring at the wall opposite her.<br/>“Are you saying you didn’t have any friends or anything like that to talk to?”<br/>“None.”<br/>Five raised his eyebrows in surprise. “<i>Really</i>?”<br/>April nodded. “Yeah really. I had the odd friend that stuck around for a while, but there always came a point when people would get scared of me. They’d see something, even if it was to protect them from something, and they’d leave. So if I ever vented to anybody, and Dad wasn’t around, it would be the cat.”<br/>April gestured to Chairman, who had taken Five’s spot in the armchair, and was licking his paws.<br/>“That cat has put up with all my shit, and you wouldn’t even know it. Thank goodness Dad didn’t make him talk.”<br/>Chairman looked up at April briefly, then curled up and went to sleep.</p><p>“I can’t believe you’ve put up with that for over 200 years… April-”<br/>“I don’t know how I’m still functioning.” April admitted. The lump in her throat returned. “After all of the shit I’ve been through. I don’t know what it’s like to be treated like I’m not some kind of terrifying creature, I don’t know how I’ve managed to go so long without expressing my feelings- And yeah I talk to Dad but in truth he only knows parts of the story, and what he doesn’t know, I can’t explain. I just wish for once that someone was able to look at me without fear in their eyes- Five, what is that even like?”<br/>April could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away but it was no good, and before she knew it, she was crying. She buried her face in her hands, feeling stupid. She hadn’t broken down like this in so long, it was almost relieving, but at the same time, overwhelming.<br/>“I don’t think you’re scary, April.” <br/>Five had moved closer and put an arm around her. April lifted her head and wiped her eyes. Before she could speak, Five continued.<br/>“I think you’re a wonderful person. Right from the start you’ve been incredible to be around, and you’ve helped me readjust to the world in a way I don’t think anyone else could. I couldn’t have asked for a cooler work partner, and I mean that.”<br/>April couldn’t help but smile.<br/>“So this is what it’s like,” she said, still wiping away tears, “to have a best friend?”<br/>Five nodded. “Yeah, it is.”<br/>Without saying another word, he pulled April into a hug.</p><p>At first, she didn’t know how to react, but after a short moment, she let herself enjoy it. It was the first time Five had ever done something like that to her, and she couldn’t help but wish it hadn’t ended. Five’s warm embrace seemed to heal something inside her. Something that had been yearning for someone to care like this for almost 250 years. It was beyond any kind of magic she knew, and she loved every second of it. </p><p>That moment where she opened up to Five changed something in April. All of a sudden she seemed so much more comfortable around him, and felt somewhat more open. It was a feeling she couldn’t really understand, but she was happy to have it. She had never really realised how heavy it felt to never talk to someone the way she did, and was glad to finally have someone else understand what she had been through, and even to simply have a friendship that lasted. </p><p>~~</p><p>Just as Five was, April was just as supportive of him in tough spots. It wasn’t even a week after she had opened up to him, that he opened up some more.<br/>April sought after her phone and earbuds to aid her in getting to sleep, for it was the early hours of the morning and other attempts were hopeless. Wrapped in her fluffy blanket and with a singular flame in hand, she ventured out of her bedroom in search of her phone, which if she had remembered correctly, was on one of Chairman Meow’s many towers. <br/>When April entered the lounge, she found not only her phone, sitting on the nearest cat tower, but also Five, curled up on the couch looking anxious.</p><p>“Five? You ok?” April walked over to him.<br/>“Y-yeah. I’m fine. Just- just uh-”<br/>“C’mon what are you doing out here?” April sat down next to him, and placed the flame on the coffee table. It sat in its place, casting a warm glow onto Five’s face, which upon closer inspection, was tear stained.<br/>“I-I had a nightmare.” Five admitted shakily. “I came out here just to clear my head.”<br/>“Is this the first time it’s happened or-”<br/>“No.” Five shook his head. “It’s been going on for weeks.”<br/>“Aw, Five!” April said, she stood up. “You should have said something! Take that.” she handed Five her fluffy blanket, and headed into the kitchen. Conjuring another flame, she filled a glass with water, and collected Chairman Meow, who was squeaking for food. She returned to the couch and handed Five the glass.<br/>“If you want to clear your head, start by drinking some water. And I must mention, the fluffy blankie is very good at comforting, and works best when wrapped around you like this,”<br/>She took the blanket, which Five was still holding, and wrapped it around him. He smiled weakly.<br/>“I won’t lie,” Five said, drinking some water, “I’m feeling a bit better already.”<br/>“That’s good to hear.” April said. She made herself comfortable next to Five, and placed Chairman Meow in her lap. “Now what would you prefer, talking about it, or something else?”<br/>“I’d prefer to be distracted.” Five said in a small voice. <br/>“Perfect.” April said, “I have a great distraction.” She lifted Chairman Meow onto her lap. Over the past weeks, Five had grown more confident around both Chairman Meow and Max, and April was impressed. There were still a few things he wasn’t so sure on, such as Max playing happily on the ceiling, but aside from that, he was doing just fine. </p><p>Five made a small grin at the sight of Chairman.<br/>“Hello, buddy.” He reached out and gave Chairman a pat on the head. Chairman left April’s lap, deciding that Five was going to be more comfortable. He curled up on Five’s lap, and purred upon receiving scratches behind his ears.<br/>“Okay,” Five said quietly, “Maybe I will talk about it. A little.”<br/>“Whatever’ll make you feel better.” April said, shrugging. “I’m open to listening.”<br/>“Well, you know trauma so I think you’ll understand best.” <br/>“I guess that’s one way you could put it.” April said.<br/>Five stroked the top of Chairman Meow’s head. He sighed. “I’m not going into detail, but ever since I’ve returned from the apocalypse, I’ve had these nightmares on and off. They feel as if I’d somehow gotten back there. They’re so vivid and painful.”<br/>“Shit-”<br/>“I always wake up shaking, sweating, unable to really get back to sleep, because I’m scared I’ll see it all again.” Five looked at April in the eyes.</p><p>“I don’t wanna go back there again.”</p><p>April was sure she saw a tear run down his cheek, but not even the glow of the flame could help her tell for sure. <br/>“I know what it’s like, Five. I get the same thing, even today.”<br/>“Really?” Five’s voice broke a little.<br/>April nodded. “Early on it would get to the point where I screamed myself awake, but that’s beside the point. I still get them, just not as bad as they once were.”<br/>“I didn’t know it could get that bad.” Five said.<br/>“Well, it can. I kinda regret saying that, I’ve probably scared you-”<br/>“No. No you haven’t” Five said. “If anything, you’ve made me feel a little less alone.”<br/>“I have?” April was slightly perplexed.<br/>“Well, how do I put it- I know I’m not the only adult that can’t just go back to sleep after a bad dream.”<br/>For a small moment April didn’t know what to say. She always got to a point where she would struggle to find words, but every time she seemed to get there eventually. <br/>“You’re not ashamed of it, are you?”<br/>“I wouldn’t say that I’m ashamed,” Five said, taking a sip of water, “It just makes me feel like I’m weak.”<br/>April was quick to respond. “Five you are not weak.”<br/>“Yeah well I don’t feel like it.” Five looked down at Chairman, who had fallen asleep.<br/>“Which is fine. It’s just what trauma does. You’re going to have these ups and downs but never forget, not even for a second, that you are not weak.” she paused, but Five didn’t speak, so she continued. <br/>“I know you’re not weak, because no matter how long you were stuck there, no matter what happened to you, you stayed there until you could find a way out, you didn’t give up on the people you cared about the most, despite what the consequences would be.”</p><p>Five gave a weak smile. <br/>“That was the only thing that kept me going, knowing that I had to get back to my family and save them. There were definitely days where all I wanted to do was give up, on those days I saw no hope whatsoever, I felt like I was getting nowhere.”<br/>“But look, you’re somewhere else now. Somewhere you can still try and save the world. And what’s better, is here you’re safe. You don’t need to feel like you have to hide your trauma. I know <i>exactly</i> how you’re feeling, and if you don’t mind, I want to help you through it.” <br/>“I appreciate that.” Five said, he turned to look at April. “I really do. I feel better knowing I’m not alone.”<br/>“That’s good to hear. I’m glad I’ve helped in some way for once in my life. And we can’t forget the power of the fluffy blankie.” April brushed a hand over her fluffy blanket, which Five still had wrapped around him. He grinned.<br/>“You know on the morning of our first mission, and how you woke up with this wrapped around you?” Five asked, gesturing to the blanket.<br/>April remembered that morning as if it were yesterday. “Yeah, I do. Was that you?” she said, smirking.<br/>Five nodded. “I figured you’d get cold. And I never got round to thanking you for that sandwich, too. I know it was a while ago but better late than never, right?”<br/>“Yeah. Better late than never.”<br/>Eventually, after a good while of completely unrelated but all the same interesting conversations, Five fell asleep on the couch, with Chairman meow now stretched out on his shoulder, and the fluffy blanket still wrapped around him. April knew full well when she stood up to go to bed, that the person she saw before her was indeed a grown man, but she couldn’t help but think that he looked a tad bit adorable. And even if he did look like himself, it would have been adorable all the same. Because it wasn’t every day April saw a usually salty old man, wrapped in a fluffy blanket and cuddling a small cat. It was a sight she was never going to forget.</p><p>~~</p><p>2 months into repeating the vicious work cycle, there was an even bigger break in their schedule, and for once April and Five decided to use some of their free time wisely and practise physical combat. Safely, of course.<br/>For once, April ditched her usual attire of cropped shirts and skirts, and instead wore more practical clothing, a sport bra and active shorts. Five cared less about the clothing side of things, and simply trained in schoolboy shorts and the singlet he wore under his shirt. He insisted that it would be better training in clothes that he would actually be wearing in real situations. <br/>“Usually, I would agree with you.” April said, pulling her hair into a high ponytail, “But part of me wants to put a bit more effort into this. And it starts with appropriate clothing.”<br/>“Fair enough.” Five said, stretching his arms. “So where do we start?”<br/>“C’mon, you’ve done this before.” April said. <br/>“Well, yeah.” Five said, shrugging. “No magic this time, please.”</p><p>April rolled her eyes. “Fine.” And without skipping a beat, she began throwing punches at Five, who deflected them all easily. <br/>“You’re gonna have to try a bit harder than that.” Five said, and he aimed a kick at her, which she ducked under flawlessly. <br/>“As you wish.” <br/>April proceeded to send numerous punches and kicks at Five, who deflected most of them. He aimed punches at her head to try and distract her from a kick, but failed, and ended up being knocked to the ground himself.<br/>“I feel like you’re almost going easy on me today.” April said, kneeling down next to Five. Five took a moment to catch his breath. <br/>“Now why would I do that?” He said, then proceeded to catch April by surprise, and attempt to wrestle her to the ground, only to fail again. April swiped a punch at him, and rolled backwards onto her feet.<br/>“Who’s got the high ground now?”<br/>Five jumped to his feet and wasted no time. He threw an almost confusing array of punches, and despite April’s best efforts, she still ended up with her back up against him, his arm wrapped tightly around her chest.<br/>“I believe <i>I</i> do.” He said. <br/>April smirked. “You fool.” She took hold of Five’s arm, and used all her strength to throw him over top of her, and land him on the ground once again. </p><p>“Impressive, Firefly.”<br/>Magnus had entered the gym.<br/>“Rest.. Please.” Five said. He was tired out already.<br/>“Alright.” April said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. She stood up and headed over to a table by the door, where she started to gulp down water. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Magnus’ expression turn grave.<br/>“I’m going to get straight to the point on this, sweetie,”<br/>April nodded and rolled her eyes. <br/>“I know you’re not going to like this, but your grandfather wants to visit.”<br/>April spat out her mouthful of water. <br/>“Absolutely not.”<br/>Five, who was still lying on the floor in the middle of the gym, groaned in distaste. Over the past few months, April had informed him of how unpleasant past visits from Asmodeus had been. And he had admitted that he never wanted to meet the guy.</p><p>“What does he want?” April said.<br/>“To check up on you.” Magnus said grumpily. April could tell how much he’d rather not have his father around.<br/>“Why can’t we just throw him back in hell? The last thing I need is pressure from that guy.”<br/>“I can’t do anything about it, okay? And whatever happens, there will probably be repercussions later. Stuff that the rest of us are going to have to deal with, so I want you to be careful this time.”<br/>“Why can’t I fix shit if I make it go wrong?”<br/>“Because they’re not your battles to fight.” Magnus said solemnly. “And I don’t want you going back there unless <i>absolutely</i> necessary. Does that make sense?”<br/>April nodded. She was briefly reminded of past events in hell, and how terrified Magnus was for weeks afterwards. “Yeah, alright. When’s he coming?”<br/>“I’d say tomorrow.”<br/>“For pete’s sake…” April turned and walked into the middle of the gym, where Five had prepared in advance, and put on forearm shields.<br/>“Go ahead.” He said almost reluctantly. He raised his forearms, and April started to punch them out of frustration.<br/>“I mean it, April! You can’t be messing around this time.” Magnus called.<br/>“Yeah I know! Seriously I do!” April said. Five was struggling to hold his ground.<br/>“Alright then. I’ll leave you to it.” Magnus left, probably to go and explain to Max how important it was that he behaved the next day.</p><p>April gave up on throwing punches and started pacing the gym. She hadn’t felt this kind of rage in months, not even at the Handler, who still never failed to piss her off. Five had put his shirt back on, and was standing at the side of the gym, sipping on a coffee that had probably gone cold, but it didn’t seem to faze him. <br/>“Are you feeling alright?”<br/>“Yeah, just pissed. That’s all.” April said, nearing the front end of the gym. “I’m just trying to think of something to keep myself under control tomorrow.”<br/>“Have you done anything in the past that’s helped?”<br/>“Music.” April said, “If I concentrate hard enough I can listen to music in my head, and it usually grounds me. But it never compares to actually hearing it through headphones…”<br/>“D’you think it will be enough to keep you sane tomorrow?”<br/>April looked apprehensively towards Five. “I don’t know. It’s never worked in the past. Something <i>always</i> goes wrong and there’s always some kind of threat to the world as a result of it.”</p><p>April stopped pacing and stood by Five. She pulled on a hoodie that she had brought with her and took her hair out of the ponytail.<br/>Five downed the last of his coffee and put on his blazer. “Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?”<br/>April thought for a moment. She could tell how much Five wanted to help her, it was only too clear in his expression. But in reality, there was almost nothing he could do.<br/>“The only thing that you could really do is convince me to keep a level head. And how effective it ends up being, it really depends. But if you could try that would mean a shit tonne to me.” April gave a half smile. <br/>“I’ll try my best.” Five returned a nerved, but all the same meaningful smile, and April felt the tiniest inkling of fear fade away.</p><p>As the afternoon shifted into the evening, April’s patience only seemed to be diminishing. When she and Five returned to the apartment, April disappeared downstairs to complain to Magnus, who up until her arrival, had been chasing Max around the house, trying to put him down for a nap. <br/>“You know perfectly well why,” Magnus said, finally closing the door to Max’s bedroom. “And we’re just going to have to deal with it, okay?”<br/>“Yeah but <i>why</i>?” April groaned, slumping onto the couch. <br/>“I don’t need to say it again.” Magnus said firmly. “You know what he wants.”<br/>“Yeah, power. He should meet the Handler.” April said in a sarcastic tone. Magnus gave her a stern look. When he didn’t comment, she continued.<br/>“I just don’t get why he keeps on coming back because it’s never brought him any good. Never has, never will.” she folded her arms and glared at Magnus. <br/>“I can’t do anything about it, April. We just have to deal with it until-”<br/>“Yeah well I’ve almost had it dealing with him!” April snapped. She stood up and walked across the room to Magnus. Every fibre of her being was focused on staying calm, but her attempts were futile.<br/>“Do you have any idea how hard it is to look at him without breaking down!? Do you know how much it hurts, remembering all the shit I’ve been through because of him!? DO YOU?!”<br/>“YES! April, I do know what that feels like!” Magnus had lost his cool, too. April froze, realizing she may have toed the line, but still she wore a cold expression on her face.</p><p>“You are not the only person that he has hurt, I’ve felt that kind of pain too.” Magnus said, jabbing a finger at April. “I know what he did to you, and the last thing I want is to see him do it again. Just please don’t go pushing it like you have in the past.”<br/>April looked directly at Magnus. She could see fear lingering in his eyes, fear that something could go horribly wrong. Try as she might, she still chose the wrong path with her words. The last thing she wanted was to see her grandfather ever again, and she wanted to make sure of it.<br/>“If he shows up tomorrow, I’m gonna kill him. Mark my damn words, Dad.” April snarled, and she headed towards the front door. Magnus was quick to follow her.<br/>“You will do no such thing, April! I’ve said it over and over, the consequences would be far worse!”<br/>“Do I look like I care?!” April shouted, whirling around to face Magnus. “It may be selfish of me, but I don’t want to see him ever again! And if that means dealing with worse shit later on, then so be it! I’m done with him sporadically turning up and for WHAT?!”<br/>“April! Would you please CALM DOWN!” Magnus yelled. Sparks of blue magic flew from his fingertips. April still held a furious expression, but felt her heart jump. It was just like last time, and the time before, and the time before that. Every time Asmodeus wanted to visit, April would put up the same fight, yell the same words at Magnus and every time she would fail. She hated yelling at Magnus, and he hated yelling at her, but some things just can’t go unavoided. </p><p>“I shouldn’t have to explain these things to you every damn time this happens!” Magnus shouted. “I don’t want this either! I don’t want to see you suffer again and again! But I need you to just-”<br/>“Control myself?! D’you know how hard that is for me nowadays?! Especially around <i>him</i>?! Nightmares are only a fraction of the problem, dad, actually facing him is the rest of it! I don’t want this anymore, how hard is that to understand?!”<br/>“FOR THE LAST TIME APRIL-”<br/>“QUIET!!”<br/>Both April and Magnus turned to see Max standing in the lounge, clutching a dinosaur plushie much like the ones printed on the onesie he wore. His chubby face looked severely annoyed.<br/>“I. Want. QUIET!”<br/>“Shit, sorry Max.” Magnus said in a defeated tone. “April’s just-”<br/>“It’s fine.” April said firmly. “I’ll go now.”<br/>She left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.</p><p>April stormed upstairs into her apartment, where Five was sitting in the armchair, looking deeply concerned. As April closed the door behind her, she leaned back against it and let out an angered scream, to which Five had to cover his ears. April sunk to the floor and looked up at the ceiling.<br/>“If you heard any of tha-”<br/>“I heard the whole thing.”<br/>April groaned in defeat. “I’m really sorry. I just don’t think I could handle looking into his face ever again. And I know what Dad meant and it was all reasonable- I just can’t do it, not without losing myself and I mean, <i>how</i> am I supposed to stay fine when the source of my trauma is standing right in front of me?”<br/>“I- my social skills are shit, I don’t really know what to say, sorry.” Five said, he still looked a little panicky as April collapsed onto the couch. <br/>“I’m the only one that should be apologising right now. But you’re fine. I don’t know how to comfort people either.”<br/>“But somehow we managed in the past?”<br/>April made a weak smile. “Me succeeding in comforting someone is just me spitting out raw thoughts about it all. I don’t sugar coat it to make sense or anything like that. Just saying some words and hoping they make someone feel alright.”<br/>“It’s certainly what it feels like.” Five said, sighing. “But I’m trying my best anyway, because I don’t like seeing you angry.”<br/>April avoided Five’s eyes. None of her anger had ceased.<br/>“I know you’ve talked about this before, but what exactly does he want from you when he visits?”<br/>“To know what I’m capable of. And then he’ll go back and try to do something that’ll attempt to either overthrow us or ‘convert my loyalty’, which has failed every time so far.”<br/>Five nodded. “That makes sense.”<br/>“Like I said to Dad, he should meet the Handler, they only want me for my power. And I hate that.” <br/>“You’ve never really explained how you’ve gone wrong in the past. Like back in the gym your dad said you couldn’t be messing around this time.”<br/>“Just stupid shit.” April said grumpily, her eyes still fixed on the wall. “I got so full of myself, I’d end up messing around, doing too little, doing almost too much. I threw him back through a portal once. I think that was the only time I’d seen Dad laugh at his father.” she smirked at the memory. “And then there were some other times where he would try and discipline me, and that was when things got worse. There’s really no right way to go about this. I just have to be careful, and not let him get to me. But when has that ever worked?”</p><p>April brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. For the first time that evening she felt more scared than angry. Magnus’ shouts echoed in the back of her mind. He was right, there was no doubt about it, but all April wanted was to wake up and realise that it was a dream, or something stupid like that. But Five shifting closer to her proved that she was wide awake, and the day’s events had indeed happened, as much as she didn’t want to believe it. <br/>“I’m scared.” she muttered.<br/>Five slid an arm around her. “April, you are the strongest person I have ever met. I know you can get through this.”<br/>“I say that to myself every time yet something still goes wrong.” April said weakly. She looked at Five. There was something about looking at those emerald eyes of his. Something comforting that made April feel a tiny bit better about it all. But that horrible feeling in her stomach still didn’t falter. <br/>“Well- I guess I’ll be fine. I just really <i>don’t</i> want to see him again. I’ll give anything to never see him again.” April said shakily. The thought of seeing Asmodeus standing before her made her stomach perform backflips. But she kept on looking at Five, because somehow he was making everything hurt a little less.</p><p>“Maybe try not to get yourself worked up about it.” Five said. “Do you want to do something to distract you, or try to get some sleep?”<br/>“I hate to be rude but sleep is a horrible idea.” April said bluntly.<br/>“Ah, I should have known that. Is there something else you’d like to do? Anything that’ll calm you down, or something like that.”<br/>“I don’t know,” April said weakly. “Music is a good distraction, but could potentially bring unwanted feelings. Talking about something else could lead to memories I’d rather not think of.”<br/>“I think you’re being just a tad bit too paranoid.” Five admitted.<br/>“Can you blame me?”<br/>“Hey uh, it may just be me but your hands look kinda small.”<br/>Five gently took April’s hand and placed it against his. The warmth of his hand seemed to flow through April, and even put a tiny smile on her face.<br/>“I never thought my hands were small?” she said quietly. <br/>“Maybe mine are just bigger then.” Five said. He gave April a small grin. “Yours are soft though. Despite all of that magical stuff you do.”<br/>“Really? I never pay attention to that kind of thing.”<br/>“You should. It’s kinda cool.”<br/>“Are you saying-”<br/>“Sometimes I catch myself watching you cast magic and stuff. There’s just something so cool about it.” Five admitted. He looked at April’s hand, which was still against his.<br/>“You really think so?” April said, almost unconvinced. <br/>“Yeah, I think so. It’s cool how small hands can create incredible things. Hands that despite all odds are still soft to the touch.” Five smiled a bit wider at April.<br/>April couldn’t find words. She was too focused on how warm and comforting Five’s hand was against hers. She didn’t even notice how calm she was feeling.<br/>“You know what that also reminds me of?” Five continued. April tilted her head slightly. <br/>“What else?”<br/>“How strong you are. And I mean it.”<br/>April felt her face grow warmer, and as a natural reflex, she buried her head into her knees.<br/>“Really?” She asked in a muffled voice.<br/>“I said I mean it.” Five said, bringing his head a little closer. It was at this moment that April also felt Five wrap his fingers around her hand, and all of a sudden her stomach had moved from backflips to cartwheels. <br/>“You’ve been through unimaginable things, you’ve seen and done shit that I could never imagine. You’ve experienced so many hardships and here you sit. A strong and incredibly capable woman. I know you’ll make it through tomorrow, April, okay?”<br/>April tried to form words but only mustered a quiet squeak.<br/>“I’ll be there to support you. And so will your dad. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”</p><p>April moved without thinking and pulled Five into a tight hug. A lot of her wanted to cry, with no specific reason. Maybe she wanted to cry just to let go of her fear. But instead she smiled, and just continued to hug Five.<br/>“Thank you. Thank you so much.”<br/>Five said nothing. He simply hugged April tighter. April had no idea how long that hug lasted, but she enjoyed every second of it. It gave her a feeling so powerful and uplifting. She had never felt it before, but she would give anything to feel it again. The space of time between letting go of Five and parting ways to go to bed seemed to melt away, and all she could remember before falling asleep, clutching her fluffy blanket, was Five’s words, and how they would be the only thing she would let herself hear for as long as she lived.</p><p>~~</p><p>Lying awake at half past five in the morning was no use. April eventually figured that surrounding herself in the morning air would ease her trembling body. She made her way out onto the balcony off her bedroom, and rested her arms on the railings. She looked on at the city, which never failed to intrigue her with colourful lights, except this time. Her stomach swirled too much for her to even think about relaxing, and her head rang with words she had heard, and wished she hadn’t.</p><p>
  <i>”-not fit for that world. Her home is Edom, where she can better exercise her potential.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>”Disgraceful. Weaker demons have better emotional stability.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>”A coward, unstable and insolent.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>”Stop crying! You are a grown woman! Disappointing!”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>”Your father raised a mess, a woman without control. And might I add, with the wrong purpose. You will learn one day that you belong in Edom, where you’ll be better taken care of.”</i>
</p><p>They resonated in her mind, echoing and repeating, steadily growing louder with every shuddering breath she took. And soon enough, images accompanied words. Piercing stares, flashes of red and gold, manic laughter mixed with her own strained shrieks…</p><p>She covered her ears, but it did nothing to cease the volume. Gasping and trembling, April stumbled inside. There was a vague thought in her head, suggesting that she tried to stay quiet so she didn’t wake Five, but it faded away in seconds, only to be replaced by another vivid and terrifying memory. <br/>April made her way to the couch, hoping that lying down would help her regain her senses better than her bed, home to far too many nightmares. Though as she walked through the still darkened apartment, as she tripped and fell to her knees, she found herself at the feet of a demon who had brought her only too much pain.<br/>Though his mouth spoke, April’s head still swam with constant remarks from her grandfather, and they only seemed to grow closer as she saw the barren scenes of Hell around her. And when Lucifer reached a clawed hand out towards her, she couldn’t tell if the scream she heard was genuine, or a figment of her crowded mind. </p><p>“HELP ME! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!”</p><p>Covering her ears, she screamed again, with a very faint hope that it would drown out her grandfather’s voice. Though it did seem to fade away, it was replaced by other overwhelming sounds, quick footsteps against the solid floor, accompanied with a panicked voice. A set of hands took her by the arms and lifted her, and she looked up to see Five holding her, looking anxious. <br/>“April! April can you hear me?!”<br/>April couldn’t form words. She merely sobbed and placed her head on Five’s shoulder. Upon doing so, she already felt a small sense of relief. She jumped at the sound of a door opening, followed by a set of heavier footsteps.<br/>“Shit, April!” Magnus hurried forward and knelt on the ground next to her. Some distant part of her wanted to reach out to Magnus, but she continued to cling onto Five, maybe it was because she knew there was no way he could bring on another flashback, she didn’t know.<br/>“I should have forewarned you, Five. This happens every time, everything just overwhelms her.”<br/>“It’s okay, I understand that.” Five said. He gently wiped a tear from April’s face. Magnus took one of April’s hands.<br/>“How’re you feeling, Firefly? Better? Worse?”</p><p>“I can’t do it.” April mumbled, “I can’t.”<br/>Magnus sighed.<br/>“I still don’t understand.” Five said, “there’s really nothing you can do?”<br/>“The consequences would only make matters worse no matter what I do.” Magnus explained, “all we can do is put up with it until the right time, which isn’t far away.”<br/>April felt a surge of anger at Magnus’ words, and continued to avert her eyes from him, and instead focused on a stray thread on the shoulder of Five’s pyjamas.<br/>“He’s gonna hurt me, Dad.” she said quietly. As she spoke, she felt Five’s arm tighten around her. <br/>“He won’t hurt you, Firefly I can promise you-”<br/>“Yes he will! He always does!” April finally turned to face her father. “Why would this time be any different!?”<br/>“Because I’m not going to let him do <i>anything</i> to you sweetie.” Magnus said softly, “He’s done far too much to you, and I promise after today, I’m putting a stop to this, it can’t go on.”<br/>April nodded. She felt herself calming down somewhat, but her hands still shook and there was still a lingering urge to cry out.</p><p>Magnus stood up and sighed.<br/>“I don’t expect either of you to be able to sleep again, but Five if you could just keep an eye on her, or something, I just don’t want her to freak out again. I have the unfortunate job of greeting the guy in a few hours.”<br/>“Thank you, Dad.” April muttered. She looked up at Magnus and attempted a smile.<br/>“You’re gonna be okay, Firefly. Try to rest up a little.”<br/>April nodded, despite knowing perfectly well that she wouldn’t. She may have calmed down, but her head still raged with the possibilities of the day ahead. Of course, she was reassured that Magnus wouldn’t let a single thing happen to her, those words could never quell the dread still lingering inside her. Magnus did everything he could to protect her in the past, but Asmodeus had always found a way to further damage her, and that was the one thing she was scared about.</p><p>A glass of chocolate milk later, April had settled on the couch with her fluffy blanket. Five sat on the couch next to her, reading a book that he seemed to have blindly chosen from the shelf. He didn’t seem to have enjoyed it, for only after a few short minutes he flipped the book shut and tossed it lightly onto the floor. He instead resorted to once again putting an arm around April, which she had started to like a lot. She absent mindedly placed her head on his shoulder, saying nothing and instead trying to focus on the feeling of Five’s arm against her back, hoping it would overthrow the voices trying to creep their way back into her head.<br/>“You ok?” Five asked quietly. April didn’t answer. Somewhere in the back of her mind she acknowledged that Five had spoken to her, but she found herself too busy getting lost in the warmth of Five’s body against hers. She had a fleeting thought, was it wrong to be enjoying this? But it was giving her so much relief from what she had experienced just under an hour ago, she didn’t really want it to end. She wanted to stay as free of worry as possible for as long as she could.<br/>“April?”<br/>“Hm?” she made a small jump, and looked up at Five.<br/>“Are you ok?” he asked. There was a growing look of concern on his face.<br/>“Oh, yeah I’m fine.” April mumbled. She rested her head back on Five’s shoulder. She was glad he didn’t mind it, because it was bringing her so much comfort. At least she assumed that he didn’t mind.<br/>“I just- you didn’t respond when I first asked so I got a little worried. I don’t want you going back there again.”<br/>April wasn’t entirely sure what to say, she just fiddled with the hem of the oversized t-shirt she wore. <br/>“Is there anything I can do to make you feel any better? Or do you like the quiet?”<br/>“Talk to me.” April uttered. She hadn’t entirely considered her words, but it appeared to her that Five was happy to do whatever would make her feel okay, and talking wasn’t a big ask. <br/>“Just talk?” Five said with a hint of confusion.<br/>“It’s probably a weird request,” April said quietly, “but if I’m honest with you, it’s really comforting.” she lifted her head once again and looked at Five, who was oddly surprised.<br/>“It’s not strange at all. If it’s what makes you feel better, that’s absolutely fine.” Five gave a warm smile. April returned a half-smile.</p><p>“But what d’you want me to talk about?”<br/>April shrugged. “I don’t really mind. Just know I probably won’t reply.”<br/>“You gonna zone out or something?”<br/>“Exactly.”<br/>April once again rested her head on Five’s shoulder, and relaxed her shoulders for what felt like the first time all morning. The sun was finally beginning to rise and cast a faint golden glow across the room, which couldn’t help but heighten her fear ever so slightly, but it seemed to melt away when she heard Five speaking.<br/>“I know today is going to be hard for you. But I want you to, if you can, remember what I said last night. You are so strong, and I’ll be there, your dad will be there, we’ll protect you. Your grandfather isn’t gonna do anything to you, and we’re making sure of that, okay?”<br/>April began to feel the softness of Five’s breath against her cheek, and something about it caused her to smile. It was only a matter of seconds before that softness of breath turned into the softness of lips, and April started to fill with a foolish happiness unlike the kinds she had felt before. <br/>“You’re gonna be okay April. I promise.”</p><p>April felt her face break into a smile. Five could repeat those words over and over, and she felt as though she would never get sick of it. As for that kiss on the cheek, a lot of her secretly hoped it would happen again. She so instantly felt more confident that it was almost concerning, but nonetheless she enjoyed it. There was no way that Asmodeus was going to make shit worse for her, and she was going to make sure of it. </p><p>And soon enough she drifted off. Where to, she did not know. Somewhere she felt safe and protected by those she cared for most, and oh how wonderful it was there. She would give anything to stay there, but there was no escape from the real world. Not even falling asleep could make April miss that text message she dreaded ever so much.</p><p>April’s phone vibrated loudly against the coffee table, causing her to jolt awake from her daze. Five was standing in the kitchen, sipping coffee and looking apprehensive.<br/>“Sorry I moved.” he said, “I really didn’t want to but the cat got into the food container.” Five gestured to Chairman Meow, who was sitting in a cat tower, looking pleased with himself.<br/>“It’s alright.” April said groggily. She reached out for her phone and turned it on. As she expected, the message she received was from Magnus. Reluctantly, she opened the message, and her stomach dropped.</p><p>
  <i>Commission meeting room B. As soon as you can. I’m on high alert.</i>
</p><p>April turned off her phone and stood up. Being at her peak of laziness, she snapped her fingers and her oversized t-shirt replaced itself with her usual “I’m probably not in a great mood” outfit, the black mid-length sleeved shirt and burgundy skirt, complete with her boots.<br/>“Let’s get out of here.”<br/>“You’re not going to eat anything?” Five asked. He walked into the lounge.<br/>“Nah. If I do I’ll probably throw it back up, you see.”<br/>“Right.” Five said, slightly unimpressed.<br/>April rolled her eyes. “Fine! If it makes you feel any better!” she reached for Five’s mug of coffee and took a sip. Five didn’t miss a beat, and snatched the mug back.<br/>“Hey! I thought this was bad for you!”<br/>“Two things,” April said. “One, that shit is disgusting. Two, I’m determined to get this over with, so I could probably do with a kick. Let’s go.” <br/>April conjured a portal and stepped through, where she and Five ended out in yet another Commission corridor. As they walked through it, Five was looking stunned.<br/>“Your mood has changed drastically, April. Are you okay?”<br/>“No. I’m terrified,” April said firmly. She eyed the doors they passed, looking out for the meeting room Magnus asked for them to be in. “I’m just trying to combat it with anger. I’m not taking any of his shit today.”<br/>“Look, April I’m glad you’re feeling better about this but could you just pause for a second?” Five stopped walking and took April by the shoulders. April looked nervously at Five, she didn’t want to delay everything much longer. <br/>“I know you’re feeling a lot of emotions right now, and I know that you want to get this over with, and so do I, but I just want you to promise me you won’t act irrationally.”<br/>April was quick to respond. “I won’t. I just really don’t want him to get to me, that’s all it is.”<br/>“Okay.” Five said uneasily. He sighed. “I’m scared too, and I don’t want him to hurt you.”<br/>It was then that April really saw how much Five didn’t want this. He knew what it was like to be reminded of a traumatic past, and in his eyes, she saw how much he cared for her, and didn’t want to see her suffer again. <br/>“I’m not gonna let him hurt me again, and I mean it. And neither will Dad and-”<br/>“Neither will I.” Five said, as he wrapped his arms around April and hugged her tightly. April relaxed in Five’s embrace, unable to find words for how much safer she felt. </p><p>They broke apart when a door ahead of them opened, and Magnus stepped into the hall. There was no need for him to speak. April rolled her eyes and approached the doorway, where her stomach dropped when she entered and was met with a terribly familiar sight, a tall man in a plain white suit, with gold green eyes with slitted pupils, the ones that Magnus had inherited, and every so often scared her.<br/>“Hello, April.”<br/>April said nothing. Asmodeus surveyed her in silence, then caught sight of Five.<br/>“And uh, who is that? Your-”<br/>“Work partner.” April snarled.<br/>Asmodeus suppressed a laugh, making April grimace even harder at him.<br/>“A child?”<br/>“No.” April said firmly. She sat down at the other end of the table, and eyed Asmodeus, despite how livid with anger it made her. “A 58 year old man that fell victim to a time jump accident. Why do you care?”<br/>Asmodeus didn’t answer. He glanced at Five once more with an almost disgusted expression, then looked back at April, who heard Five mutter “piece of shit” under his breath.<br/>She hated everything about him, that stupid face, stupid suit and stupid attitude towards her. But no matter how hard it was, she continued to stare daggers at him. Her mind was empty, except for the ringing silence that had been there for years. She found it odd, because usually the voices would resurface.</p><p>“What do you want from me?” April asked waspishly. From the corner of her eye she could see Five and Magnus standing against the wall, carefully eyeing Asmodeus. Magnus looked especially unimpressed, and flicked his gaze to her every so often, before casting it back to his father and resuming a cold expression.<br/>“I just want to talk with you.” Asmodeus said calmly, but it was the kind of calm that portrayed Asmodeus as a dormant volcano. If April said one thing to displease him, it was all over. <br/>“About what?” April asked, narrowing her eyes.<br/>Asmodeus placed his hands on the table. “Tell me, are you any better at controlling yourself?”<br/>“Why does it matter to you?” April snapped.<br/>“I’m the one asking the questions here. And I’ll take that as a no.” <br/>April felt her body grow hot. It had only been a few minutes and she was already willing to leave. Every fibre of her being wanted to lunge out at him, to pay him back for the trauma he caused, but she stayed still, trying to tell herself everything would be just fine if she kept her cool for once in her life.</p><p>“What about that magic of yours?”<br/>“Take a guess.” April said through gritted teeth. As she spoke, she placed her hands on the table, and bright orange sparks flew from her fingertips, causing Magnus to turn his eyes towards her. He cast her a look that clearly said ‘watch it’.<br/>April could have sworn she saw Asmodeus smirk, but it was gone before she could confirm it. <br/>“Do you ever find yourself feeling as though you’re, out of place, so to speak?”<br/>“What are you, some kind of therapist? Well you’re doing a shit job.” April retorted. <br/>“Like you can never reach what potential you have?” Asmodeus continued.<br/>“I didn’t know I had any.” April replied with heavy sarcasm.<br/>“Pressured by those around you?”<br/>“I hate you.”<br/>“Unfit for this world?”<br/>“In your dreams.” April scowled at her grandfather. He always had a knack for being so calm and collected in such situations and it drove her insane. <br/>“You’re trying to get me to leave.” April said, smirking. “I know it.”<br/>“I don’t know why you would think that.”<br/>“You’re the worst liar I have ever met.”</p><p>April knew she wasn’t going to fall for this. Her best guess was that Asmodeus was beginning to get tired of trying, and was simply giving it one last shot. But April knew full well, there was no way anything he said would change her mind.<br/>“You’re starting to give up, aren’t you?” she asked, continuing to smirk maliciously. <br/>Asmodeus’ expression didn’t falter.</p><p>“You don’t belong here.” Asmodeus said bluntly.<br/>“That’s what you think.” April replied. <br/>“I don’t think it, I know it. You’re wasting all you have on ungrateful people.”<br/>“Ungrateful?”<br/>“You should know what I mean.” Asmodeus said sternly. <br/>April was becoming fed up at this point. It seemed to her as though Asmodeus was stalling, or asking weak and almost stupid questions as a way of potentially getting an extreme reaction from her. Though as infuriating as it was becoming, she was determined to keep her cool, keeping the promise she made to both Five and Magnus. But she wasn’t going to abide by their words without throwing in snide remarks of her own. <br/>“What I do, I do without making it known.” April explained firmly. “I don’t seek appreciation.”<br/>“And what about shadowhunters?” Asmodeus suggested, far too casually for April’s liking. “All of those demons you’ve killed for them, in numerous eras of time. Have you ever been thanked for that?”<br/>“Do I need to be?”<br/>“You make everything far too difficult, Bane.”<br/>April threw Asmodeus a mischievous smile, to which he responded with a disgruntled expression. April was quick to resume her previous, irritated face and waited for whatever Asmodeus had to say next. <br/>“You’ve never felt what it is like to be truly appreciated by someone, haven’t you?”<br/>April stayed silent. It then occurred to her that he may be touching a nerve.<br/>“You’ve never been able to hold onto friends, or anyone for that matter. They always end up going away. You’ve never known anyone enough to even consider them a friend, and even if you did, they always ran away. Why? Because they were met with a monster.”<br/>“Stop talking. Right now.” April snarled. It was taking everything in her power to stop herself from leaving the room. Next to her, both Five and Magnus were looking close to outraged.</p><p>“Where has that led you?” Asmodeus asked, still maintaining his calm manner. “You spend almost all of your time alone, working tirelessly under instruction from your father, overexerting yourself and for what? To kill people for a living?! A waste of an immortal life, if I do say so myself.”<br/>“And if you’re not careful your immortal life might just vanish.” April said, standing up. <br/>“Dad, whatever you’re doing it needs to stop, now.” Magnus said, stepping forward. Five cast his eyes between April and Asmodeus, concern growing on his face.<br/>“But I haven’t finished talking to my granddaughter.” Asmodeus said, gesturing lightly to April with a painful smile. He looked at her dead in the eyes once more.<br/>“You’re wasted here. You know no one would ever think of you as kind, or innocent. You have no place here.”<br/>“You know nothing!” April shouted, slamming her fists on the table. “Just shut up!”<br/>She glanced over at Five, and saw him mutter nervously to Magnus.<br/>“Her eyes shouldn’t be red, should they?”</p><p>“The evidence is right there!” Asmodeus shouted. “You’re unfit for a place like this, doing these kinds of things. You’re better off in Edom, with other demons.”<br/>“Don’t call me that.” April said once again through gritted teeth.<br/>“But it’s what you are, I don’t know why you deny it.” Asmodeus said. “You aren’t even human, April. Stop thinking so.” Somehow he appeared to still have patience for April, and all of a sudden she was determined to make him reach his tipping point.<br/>“I’ll deny it all I want, asshole.”<br/>Magnus threw April a harsh look, which she ignored. <br/>That last word she spoke seemed to do all the work. As if a switch had been flipped inside him, Asmodeus abruptly rose from his seat, enraged.<br/>“You are a menace, Bane!”<br/>“You think I don’t know that already?!” April said, baring her fangs.<br/>“You’re wasting yourself in a world that isn’t even meant for you, and denying where you are rightfully supposed to be.”<br/>“You can’t make me go back there!” April shouted, this time with a hint of fear. Magic sparked from her fingertips, and for a reason unbeknown to her, she had a great pain in her head.<br/>“I can if I want to! And I’ll do it right now.”</p><p>Asmodeus raised his hands, from which emitted deep red sparks of magic. April felt her stomach drop. She glanced to her side, and watched as Magnus muttered something to Five before crossing the room.<br/>“Dad, you need to stop this now, you’re taking this way too far.”<br/>“Am I?” Asmodeus said, flicking a wrist. Magnus was sent flying towards the other side of the room.<br/>“DAD!” April yelled. She hurried over and helped him to his feet. To April’s surprise, Five didn’t move. He only kept his eyes on her.<br/>“Don’t worry about me.” Magnus said gruffly. April wasted no time turning back around and facing Asmodeus.<br/>“What the hell are you doing?!”<br/>“Stop making this difficult for yourself, April. Accept the truth.”<br/>“No.”<br/>“Then you leave me no choice.” Asmodeus whirled magic between his fingers. April felt no fear, only a determination to end this. So she settled for a simple but also seemingly difficult approach. The classic element of surprise. <br/>“Fine.” She said with defeat. “Fine then.”<br/>“Perfect.” Asmodeus grinned.<br/>For the first time since entering the room, Five spoke. <br/>“April what the hell are you thinking?!”<br/>“Save it, Five.” she flickered a smirk to him, though it didn’t seem to ease his nerves at all. </p><p>April finally centered herself. As she felt time slow down around her, and Magnus’ yells fade away, she stared at Asmodeus, that grin still lingering on his face. She looked at him with great upset, and thought to herself about how much he had ruined her life, and what she would give to make it all stop. She then heard the words Five said to her the night before, and for a brief moment she felt as if she was at home with him again, and she once again felt that same indescribable joy, and remembered how much she longed to feel it again.</p><p>
  <i>”Here you sit, a strong and capable woman.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>”I’ll be there, you’re gonna be okay.”</i>
</p><p>She didn’t notice how she was absentmindedly touching her cheek where Five had kissed it, until Asmodeus took a step forward. <br/>Remembering how she had felt last night, remembering that joy of being comforted by someone that had just walked into her life a few months ago, April was willing to do anything to feel it all again. And remembering the things she would give to eradicate her fears, she knew sacrificing herself to Edom wasn’t one of them. </p><p>As Asmodeus rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and started to walk towards her, April made an incredible spur of the moment decision to go beyond what Magnus would classify as ‘safe’, and finish everything for good, forgetting everything that she was told before, because in that split second, she didn’t care at all.<br/>She placed a foot on the table before her and launched herself into the air, soaring directly towards Asmodeus with flames whirling from her hands. Behind her she could hear Magnus yelling furiously at her, and Five shouting in panic. Before she hit the ground, April managed to grip Asmodeus by the collar of his shirt, and she sent the two of them tumbling to the side. She dug a knee into his stomach whilst still gripping his collar, and looked at him with utter rage.<br/>“I’ve had it with you and your shit!” she shouted. “You’ve caused me decades of pain, and it’s ending now!”<br/>“What did I tell you?!” Asmodeus shouted back, with an air of pride. “You’re nothing but a monster, unable to face the truth without losing your cool.”<br/>“You’re the monster! You’ve done no good, you only want this for yourself!” she raised a hand to punch him, but she stopped when he too lifted a hand, and she froze. </p><p>The world around her seemed to fade away, and replace itself with not a flashback, but what seemed to be everything if she had chosen to do nothing.<br/>Images flashed in and out of her head, images that sent wave after wave of fear and pain through her. <br/>One cold and lifeless body after the other, first Magnus, then Alec, Max, and even Five were still and unmoving before her. A voice ever so distant in her mind spoke,<br/><i>None of this is real, none of this is real.</i><br/>But it all seemed far too real to her, Magnus lay there before her, with what appeared to be numerous burns covering him. April felt herself fall numb, this couldn’t be happening. She looked around her, she stood in a world ruined by flames, and crawling with demons. She turned around and once again saw Five, and in an instant she found herself crying out, and as she did everything faded back, and she was still clutching Asmodeus’ collar. </p><p>“It hurts, doesn’t it?” Asmodeus smirked. Despite being held against the ground, he appeared content, which only angered April further. <br/>“You can’t do that.” April said, choking on tears. “You can’t.”<br/>“I can make the pain go away.” Asmodeus said, he was still carrying the calm he had right from the start. “You won’t feel it again.”<br/>“No.” April said, trembling not in fear, but in rage. “You’ve done enough to me.”<br/>She lifted a hand, covered in whirling flames, and punched Asmodeus right across the face.<br/>There was a stunned near silence, in which Asmodeus touched his face, to find that he had been burned. Unlike what she did to Magnus, April felt no remorse, she felt satisfied with her work, but the job was far from done. Abruptly, Asmodeus pushed April to the floor.<br/>“You idiot girl!” he yelled. April took no notice of the pain in her body from falling, she was determined to finish what she had started.<br/>“April stop!” Magnus yelled, he limped towards her, but Asmodeus threw him backwards once again. This time, Five rushed to his aid, but was quick to resume keeping an eye on April.</p><p>“You’re losing, April!” Asmodeus shouted. The burn on his face dripped blood, but he easily ignored it. “Just give it up!” He held out his hand as if to accept April’s defeat. <br/>“You’re a coward.” April said in a small voice.<br/>“I’m a what?”<br/>“I said that you, Asmodeus, are a coward.” April grinned maliciously at him. Fire was beginning to fill the room. Aware that Five and Magnus were still there, she made sure that those flames hurt Asmodeus, and him only. “If you wanted me so bad, why won’t you fight back, YOU COWARD!”<br/>She lunged at him, but something seemed to catch her, and she couldn’t reach him. <br/>She let out a cry of anger, and struggled as much as she could, but yet she was still being pulled backwards. Whilst Asmodeus was trying his best to stay on his feet. <br/>April tried as hard as she could one last time, but a hand fell over her eyes, and she found herself falling weak and drifting away.</p><p>~~</p><p>“-killed him. This isn’t good, the Institute is already a mess. And to think of what he might do now-”<br/>“Maybe stop worrying for a moment. She’s coming around. April can you hear me?”<br/>April opened her eyes to see Five looking down at her, worried.<br/>“Is he dead?”<br/>Five shook his head. “He got away. Your dad isn’t happy, though.”<br/>April tried to sit up too quickly, her head spun and muscles ached. She found herself on the couch in her lounge, wrapped in her fluffy blanket. In front of her, Five was knelt on the ground, and Magnus was furiously pacing the room, muttering all kinds of things to himself. He paused at the sight of April.<br/>“Firefly, you’re up.” He hurried over to the couch and knelt down next to Five, who was aiding her in sitting up comfortably. <br/>“Look, I’m sorry about today, I should have tried to stop things much sooner.”<br/>“You could have stopped it decades ago. But it’s fine.” April said waspishly.<br/>Magnus gave her a dark look. “It’s not exactly easy to stop a greater demon rising from Hell. And there were always complications, and there still are. You may have made things worse.”<br/>April rolled her eyes and lay back down in a huff, crushing Five’s arm. <br/>“What else did you expect me to do?! Pretend I was fine with all the shit he was saying?!”<br/>Magnus started to pace the room again. Five brought his head closer to hers.<br/>“You feeling okay?”<br/>“Not really.” April groaned.<br/>“D’you want me to try and get him out of here so you can rest?”<br/>April shook her head. “It’s fine I’ll do it.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did I do that was so wrong?! He’s not dead!” April said, folding her arms and staring up at the ceiling. Five seemed to be content with the fact that his arm was trapped underneath her, and did his best to gently rub her side to comfort her.<br/>“It’s the fact that you nearly killed him.” Magnus said, spinning on his heel and pacing in the other direction. “I reckon one more blow and he would have been dead. What you were doing didn’t look like much, but by the Angel, when have you ever been able to grow horns?”<br/>“‘Scuse me?” April sat up to better look at her father. Five seized the opportunity to regain the feeling in his arm, by the looks of things. <br/>“You heard me. Horns.” Magnus said, stopping and folding his arms. “I’ve never seen that before.”<br/>April turned things over in her head for a moment.<br/>“I may have. When I was first thrown into Hell, I remember I did something to defend myself that was unlike anything I had ever done before. There was this raging pain in my head and I couldn’t see myself, so I had no idea what it was. And-”<br/>She stopped talking, exhaustion catching up to her.<br/>“Emotion really is a powerful thing, isn’t it?” Magnus said, beginning to pace again. April nodded, things were slowly starting to make sense.</p><p>“I still don’t understand. He’s alive.”<br/>“Like I said, you were so close to killing him.” Magnus said, rubbing his temples. “He’s not going to take that lightly. Now think of what he might do about that. Personally, he looked almost terrified at the sight of you,”<br/>April suppressed a laugh. “This is what I’ve been wanting for just over a hundred years.”<br/>“Not funny. Knowing him he and Lilith may just make everything worse. And with that on top of everything else going on right now-”<br/>“Okay I get it!” April raised a hand to silence Magnus. His constant talking seemed to only drain April even more, and for once she wanted quiet. “I need to rest. Do you mind complaining to Alec? Then you can tell me off later. Please?”<br/>She looked almost pleadingly at Magnus, and thankfully he nodded. <br/>“Absolutely. I want you to rest, and you can have tomorrow off. The Handler can kiss my ass.”<br/>“Thank you Dad.” April said softly. She smiled up at him. Magnus crossed the room and knelt down in front of her once again.<br/>“I promise you Firefly, none of that is ever going to happen to you again. You need time to heal, and letting this go on is only making it worse for you. I’m sorry I didn’t act sooner.” he took April’s hand.<br/>“I forgive you. I know it’s not easy.”<br/>She smiled warmly at Magnus, who gave her hand a final tight squeeze before heading for the front door.<br/>“Look after her please, Five.” <br/>“I sure will.” Five said, as Magnus left the apartment. </p><p>As soon as the door had closed, April lay back on the couch again and sighed heavily.<br/>“Fuck.”<br/>“Hey no don’t say that.” Five looked almost alarmed at her.<br/>“Fine.” April said irritably. “I’ll just scream then.”<br/>She inhaled, but was cut off by Five’s hand against her mouth. He merely gave her a stern look.<br/>“There’s no point in being mad at him-”<br/>“I’m not!” April exclaimed, pulling Five’s hand off her mouth. “I’m mad at myself! I lost it in there!”<br/>Reluctantly, her mind flicked back to the office, where she once again felt the rage she had towards Asmodeus, and remembered the look of almost terror on his face, along with that horrible burn. As much as it satisfied her to give him what he deserved, she finally paid attention to what Magnus had been saying.<br/>“The shit that could happen because of me. It’s all that Dad has been saying.”<br/>“The stuff you ignored.” Five said, continuing that stern expression.<br/>“I didn’t ignore it! I was dismissive, and thought I’d be able to keep myself under control but that’s utter bullshit!” April made to get up too quickly and winced horribly. Pain surged through her muscles and along with a firm push from Five, she fell back onto the couch. <br/>“You’re not going anywhere.” He said firmly, standing up and jabbing a finger at her.<br/>“Hey, <i>I’m</i> the eldest. Don’t tell me what to do.” She said in a salty tone. Despite the pain, she tried to get up again, but Five gently pushed her back down.<br/>“No.”<br/>April pouted childishly. <br/>“Just tell me what you want.” Five said.<br/>“Chocolate milk?” April asked in a small voice. Five blinked into the kitchen without saying another word, then reappeared not long after with a glass of chocolate milk in hand.<br/>“Just so you know, that’s the last of it.”<br/>“Great.” April said, rolling her eyes. She took a sip of the chocolate milk, then placed the glass on the coffee table then proceeded to bundle up in her blanket.<br/>“Wake me up when dinner arrives.” She said with heavy sarcasm. <br/>“Will do.” Five said, chuckling.</p><p>April didn’t mean to sleep right until dinner arrived, but she ended up doing just that. She was brought to her senses when Five opened the front door to see Magnus, holding take out food. The apartment was set in a golden evening glow, one that somehow couldn’t quell her irritability like it usually did.<br/>“Tell me she’s slept all afternoon?” Magnus asked, handing Five the bags. He glanced over at the couch.<br/>“She’s been out cold all afternoon.”<br/>“Good. Usually I would call her a lazy little shit but I’ll let her off this time.”<br/>Without lifting her head, April flipped Magnus off. She heard him sigh in disappointment.<br/>“Nice to see she’s in a good mood.”<br/>“Don’t test me Dad!” April said, finally looking up. <br/>Magnus looked at her, disappointed but not surprised.<br/>“Eat something please. And I added some pain relief in there as well-”<br/>“You know I hate taking tablets!” April shouted. At this point she had already lost most of her patience.<br/>“Whether you take them or not, I don’t care. It just might be better than suffering.”<br/>April heaved a sigh. “Yeah, maybe. I just want fries.”<br/>“I ordered extra.” Magnus said, gesturing to one of the bags Five held. “I’ll leave you to it, just don’t do heaps, you need to rest.”</p><p>Once Magnus had left, Five crossed the room and tossed one of the take out bags at her. After struggling to sit up, April opened the bag and started piling fries into her mouth.<br/>“I’ll admit that I am in a weird mood,” April said between mouthfuls of fries. “I just need more sleep.”<br/>“You just need to do nothing at all. You were all worked up now all you need is to calm down a bit.” Five said, sitting down on the couch next to her and taking the bag of fries. “And you’re not eating all of those.”<br/>April put on the same childish pout she wore earlier in the day. Five took a quick look at her before tossing the bag back at her, to which she smiled gleefully. </p><p>There was a moment of silence, in which Five and April wordlessly fought over the bag of fries, before eventually finishing them and resting on the couch. April had unintentionally taken to looking over the day’s events in her head, and how much it felt like a fever dream. Remembering the last thing she saw before blacking out, Asmodeus’ petrified face, she started to gain a small amount of confidence.<br/>“Y’know,” she said, breaking the silence, “I reckon he’s scared of me now.”<br/>Five, who was sitting as close as he could next to her, downed the last of his glass of water and turned his head to face her. <br/>“Your father did mention that.” he said.<br/>“Yeah but he’s not sure. I think he really is. But that’s not to say he’ll do anything about it. And that’s why I’m kicking myself.”<br/>“Please don’t give yourself a hard time about it. There was nothing you could do.” Five implored. He reached out and took her hand. That same warmth and comfort she felt from it every time returned, and it was one reason why she enjoyed the time travelling part of her work so much.<br/>“No, that’s the thing. I could have controlled myself. If I had just thought about my actions for once in my life-”<br/>“But he was making you angry, you really can’t blame yourself for the way you reacted!” Five exclaimed. “He brought you to tears! And you expect yourself to be fine!”<br/>“Of course I don’t!” April said, she tried to sit up some more, but accepted defeat to the pain. “I just- I don’t know, okay?! I expected better of myself. I just didn’t know he would do that-”<br/>“What was it that he did?” Five asked. His tone was suddenly softer, more comforting, almost. April was partially confused at his sudden change of voice.<br/>“All we saw was Asmodeus raise one of his hands and you froze, and then you started crying.”</p><p>April sighed. Looking back on that particular moment wasn’t pleasant at all, but in her right mind she knew that none of it was at all real. The only part about it was that she feared if she thought about it for too long, tears could fall again. <br/>“I’m only asking because neither me nor your dad knew what he did. I, at least, just want to know what it was, just to make comforting you that little bit easier.”<br/>Five looked at April reassuringly. It was a look that told her everything would be alright if she spoke, and that was something she admired so much about Five. And it was also why she decided that it was better to explain things to him, almost without any hesitation.<br/>“He showed me what would happen if I went with him. You, Dad, Alec, Max, all of you dead. And the world around you was in ruins, and littered with demons.” She said shakily. Five’s grip on her hand tightened. <br/>“You’re kidding me.”<br/>April shook her head. “I’m not. And I’m better at talking about it now because I know it wasn’t real, I know you were there right behind me. But at the time, it was so vivid, and the pain felt so real. And that’s why I cried. That’s what he meant when he said he could take that pain away.”<br/>“He wanted to turn you into a heartless killer.” Five said, shocked. April nodded as if it was no surprise.<br/>“It’s always been his goal. To turn me into something that would kill even the people I cared about most for the satisfaction of my true superiors. But I’m never going to give into that.”<br/>“As you should. You don’t belong there. You belong here, around people that love and care for who you are beyond your power.”<br/>April smiled, and felt her face grow warm. “You’re so sweet, Five. Did you know that?”<br/>It was Five’s turn to blush. He smiled and looked away.<br/>“I’m just telling the truth.” he said as he turned back to face her. <br/>“I can’t argue with that.” April smiled. She couldn’t help but notice Five’s eyes, shining ever so slightly in the darkened room. She also couldn’t help but notice the singular dimple he had when he smiled, and she somehow found it adorable. Very briefly she saw not someone trapped in an adolescent body, but the man she saw Five as, free and still smiling with that dimple. Though his hair was greyed and his face aged incredibly, it was still such a relieving sight. Something swirled around in the left of her chest, something that seemed to elate her beyond anything her poor mind and body had felt in an incredibly long time.</p><p>“April?”<br/>She saw the boy before her again, but his face had dropped a little. April felt something fall down her face.<br/>“Is something wrong?” Five slowly reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. She felt it’s warmth spread through her, and she smiled wider.<br/>“I’ve never felt this happy before. Sure, music can make me feel great but-”<br/>“C’mon, you don’t need to cry.” Five brought his other hand to April’s face and wiped away the tears. April didn’t even feel foolish, which was strange.<br/>“But I feel really happy. Maybe my emotions are a bit out of whack after today or something.”<br/>“Don’t be stupid.” Five gave her a small grin. “What’s making you so happy? I’m just sitting here.”<br/>April lost all cautious thoughts, and focused only on the happy music playing in her head, and Five sitting in front of her. Tears still fell from her cheeks.<br/>“I don’t know how to put it into words. I’ve had the shittiest day, maybe I’m just losing it, I don’t know what any of this feels like, I’ve been deprived of it for two decades. But- I don’t know. I- you’re sitting there, and there’s just something about that. You’re just- you’re you! And somehow that brings me so much joy. And maybe I’m moving really fast or something, but you asked why I’m so happy so I thought I’d try and say it. I feel so strange right now and I couldn’t think of anything else to do but cry apparently. So, well-”<br/>April smiled, in the hopes that Five didn’t think that she was totally crazy. </p><p>He certainly looked stunned for a moment, but that moment was only about half a second. His face broke into a smile, one that only made April’s stomach swirl faster. He gently rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks, and as the world slowed down around them, as every sound slowly faded away, the only thing April could hear was the thundering of her heart, and the music in her head growing louder. And just like that, Five leaned forwards and kissed her. April felt completely disarmed, as one of Five’s hands travelled from her cheek to the back of her neck. She swung her arms around him and enjoyed every second of it. From the moment their lips collided, she was thrown into some kind of trance, one where she felt as if everything was more than okay, and it always would be. She could still feel herself shedding tears, and unlike normally, she didn’t want it to stop. There had never been a time where she had felt unspeakably happy, so she held onto Five even tighter, in the hopes that this joy would never end. </p><p>When their lips finally parted, April looked at Five with hopeless joy. A hopeless joy that must have spread onto him. He continued to hold her close to him, and it gave April a warmth unlike any other.<br/>“Is this what being in love feels like?” April murmured, as she smiled up at Five.<br/>“I think so.”</p><p>And they brought their lips together once more, And let the darkness of the apartment envelop them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Partners In Crime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>April and Five, now closer than ever, were starting to feel the harsh sting of commission work worse than ever. So much as a thought of being given another victim to remove was taking a toll on them both, to the point where their overall performance is impacted.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello hello! :D</p><p>Aight I can't be bothered throwing in disclaimers anymore. Y'all get the idea I hope.</p><p>Anyway this chapter hurt to write, and a fair warning the chapter following is probably going to be heckin long, so I hope y'all enjoy that when I finally finish it.</p><p>k I'm done here. *vanishes*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><i> This couch really is small.</i><br/>That thought only lingered for a couple of seconds, as April was immediately distracted by Five, who was stirring next to her. Throughout the entire night, his arms were wrapped tightly around her, and she laid curled up with her head resting on his chest. Even hours after She had been introduced to a series of new emotions, April was still getting her mind around it all. Embers of that same hopeless joy still bounced around inside her, and they only bounced faster when Five pressed his lips against her forehead.<br/>“Good morning.” He mumbled sleepily. <br/>“Morning.” April whispered. She snuggled closer to Five, still enjoying that happiness he brought her. She went to ask how he felt, but was interrupted by a humming that grew increasingly louder. With some difficulty, she turned around and looked at the front door, which opened to reveal Magnus, who still seemed to think that letting himself into his daughter’s apartment was completely okay. When his eyes met April’s Magnus stopped humming, and his face broke into a grin.</p><p>“It’s nice to see you two are getting on <i>really</i> well.” Magnus teased.<br/>“Dad, piss off!” April seized a cushion that fell onto the floor and hurled it at Magnus. Magnus was caught off guard, and took the flying cushion to the face. April and Five sniggered as Magnus recovered from the blow, then proceeded to toss the cushion back at them. <br/>“You walked right into that one.” Magnus said, still grinning. <br/>“Whatever. What are you doing here?” April said, holding Five’s arm against her. She was completely unashamed of the state that Magnus saw her in, she knew he would only ever tease her on odd occasions, because he knew what it was like to finally find someone to love unlike anyone else.<br/>“I’m here to make sure you’re doing as I asked and resting.” Magnus said, “And to tell you about my argument with the Handler a few minutes ago.” He sat down in the armchair. <br/>“Tell me you won.” April said, sitting up. She kept a hold of Five’s hand, which Five seemed to be perfectly okay with.<br/>“I walked in and requested that the two of you get today off. Much to her dismay she had a mission planned, and of course she put up the same old argument about how urgent it is and all that shit.”<br/>“That’s not very interesting.”<br/>“But here’s when it <i>did</i> get interesting,” Magnus said. He picked up Chairman Meow, who had been nudging his feet. “She thought she would finally address the two of you getting so many days off, and requested that it came to a stop.” <br/>“Well?” April asked with anticipation. She was always interested when Magnus strolled in with a story about an argument with their employer. There was some kind of satisfaction that came with knowing that the Handler had once again failed at getting what she wanted. </p><p>“I went on an incredibly angered rant about all of the shit you’ve been through and how the Handler’s issues were close to nothing compared to it, and I said that Five provides you with a shit tonne of support and as your work partner, or more than,” He added a smirk, to which April jokingly rolled her eyes, “he deserved the time off too. Not to mention how much work itself is overwhelming for the both of you.”<br/>“And what did she say?” April was eager to know at this point.<br/>“I said to her that my daughter is getting the time off whether her self centred ass likes it or not. And then I left.”<br/>“Nice to know she’s getting what she deserves.” Five said, “her argument really is weak.”<br/>“You don’t say.” April said. “Anything else, Dad?”<br/>Magnus shook his head. “Just thought I’d let you know that. And remind you not to do too much. You’ll be working again tomorrow so I don’t want you aggravating your muscles.” he stood up and crossed the room to the door.<br/>“And Five, look after her, otherwise you’ll have me to see to.” He gave Five a very brief stern look, before disappearing out the front door. </p><p>There was a short moment of silence, where April turned back around to face Five. He looked back at her with a tad of uneasiness.<br/>“You are okay with this, aren’t you?”<br/>April nodded. “Of course I am, well, are you?”<br/>She hadn’t given the previous night’s events any afterthought. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with it, and she was happy as long as Five was.<br/>“Well, yeah. But I was just worried about what you might think. You’re nearly 200 years older than me.” <br/>“But nobody else knows that! So why should it matter?”<br/>“It doesn’t really.” Five said, he partially averted his gaze, but April kept her eyes on him.<br/>“It’s just- you’re not just attracted to my child form, are you?”<br/>April widened her eyes. She had no idea what would have brought Five to ask such a question.<br/>“I’m not just attracted to your child appearance.” April said matter-of-factly. “Yes I can’t deny that you do look good, but that’s not all I’m going off. There is so much behind your appearance, that makes me feel some type of way. You’ve gone so long without so much as seeing another person, and you’ve been through so much pain, and I just want to give you a break from it all. We’re in such similar situations, yet so incredibly different. And if I was given the opportunity, I would seize it and love you for the man that you are beyond your adorable child form.”<br/>Five jokingly rolled his eyes. “I’m not cute, April.”<br/>“I beg to differ.” April said, making a small grin. She brushed a stray hair out of Five’s face.<br/>“Alright fine.” Five said with an air of defeat. “If you seriously feel that way about me, then I guess it’s safe to say I feel the <i>exact</i> same way about you. I know you’ve given up on trying to have people take you seriously, and if no one is going to, at least know that I will. Like you said, we’re in similar situations, and after recent events I think we owe it to each other. And I’ll admit, there isn’t anyone out there quite like you, and I don’t think I’d ever find anyone else that would love me the way you’re willing to.” he placed his hand on April’s cheek. She smiled as that warmth she loved so much spread through her once again.</p><p>“I also want to love you the way you deserve.” Five added softly. “250 years and you’ve never found someone to love.”<br/>“That’s because no one ever stuck around.” April mumbled. She rested her head in Five’s hand and half-smiled at him.<br/>“I think I’ll be sticking around for a while.” Five murmured. April leaned forward and kissed Five on the cheek. “I’ve never felt so lucky.” <br/>“Think of how I feel,” Five said, bringing his arms tighter around her. “I’ve fallen in love with the most beautiful demon ever to exist.”<br/>For an amount of time neither of them knew, April and Five lay on the couch, just enjoying each other’s presence. April was still overjoyed to have someone to call her lover, and was incredibly thankful, even if it had taken over two decades to arrive. She felt as though she could lay in Five’s embrace for as long as time went on, it was an escape from anything and everything that she couldn’t get enough of. </p><p>She must have drifted to sleep again at some point, because when she left her daze, she found that the apartment was brighter and warmer. It only heightened the peaceful happiness that already flooded her, simply because Five was gently running a hand through her hair, and every so often, softly kissing her cheek. As much as she wanted to stay like that, the brightness of the day seemed to give her a desire to leave the apartment and get some fresh air.<br/>“I want to go out.” She mumbled, without a second thought.<br/>“Hm?” Five didn’t move his head from where it lay, resting lightly on hers.<br/>“I wanna go for a walk.” April said a tad more firmly.<br/>“Your father said you need to rest, though.” Five said quietly. April could hear the concern in his voice. But only so little that he still seemed open to the suggestion.<br/>“I don’t want to sit around all day.” April said bluntly.<br/>“I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” Five replied a little more solemnly. April moved her head slightly to see that air of concern in his tone show on his face. <br/>“Please?” She asked quietly. “Just to get coffee, then I’ll rest.”<br/>Five sighed. “I guess coffee is a reasonable excuse to go out.”<br/>“I thought so.” April said. She gave Five a swift kiss on the cheek before heading to her bedroom (with a small limp), and putting on the first of her oversized hoodies that she could find, and her boots. She then met Five at the front door. Together they walked hand in hand down the staircase to the elevator, and as they passed Magnus’ apartment, they heard a clear conversation between its residents.<br/>“Magnus, honey, the cat does <i>not</i> need a bowtie collection.”<br/>“He certainly does! Look, he has one for every day of the year and it is <i>absolutely</i> necessary.”</p><p>Stifling laughs, they entered the elevator where they continued the argument.<br/>“One for every day of the year is ridiculous.” Five admitted.<br/>“I beg to differ.” April said. “Chairman deserves only the best.”<br/>“He’s a cat.” Five said, rolling his eyes.<br/>“One that helped you sleep after a nightmare! You owe him the freedom to have a bowtie collection!”<br/>“Fine! I still think it’s a bit silly.”<br/>“Shut up old man.”<br/>“Hey, you’re a fossil. You shut up or I’ll take back that kiss from last night.” Five pointed threateningly at April, a grin growing on his face.<br/>“You wouldn’t.” April said with mock-surprise.<br/>For a brief moment the two of them looked at each other. Then as the elevator doors opened, Five said “You’re right, I wouldn’t.” and resumed holding April’s hand firmly in his.<br/>Together they walked down New York’s packed streets, admiring the rest of the world going about their day. When they walked straight past their usual coffee shop, Five looked at April.<br/>“Where are we going?”<br/>“I know somewhere else.” April said. She looked back at Five, who smiled warmly at her. She couldn’t help but think of how beautiful his smile was, and how it filled her with more indescribable joy. That indescribable joy was not just fueled by the sight of his smiling face, but also knowing that he was happy because of her just being there, and walking next to him. Her existence didn’t bother someone for once, and that someone absolutely loved her, which made it all so much better.<br/>They turned down a few more streets before finding themselves outside a donut shop bearing a large sign that said ‘Griddy’s’<br/>“Best donuts I’ve ever had if I’m completely honest.” April said. Five looked the shop up and down, and his face fell ever so slightly.<br/>“I remember this place.”<br/>“You do?” April had a fleeting thought that Five was thinking forward to the apocalypse. But the small grin that reappeared on his face then told her otherwise.<br/>“I used to come here with my siblings.” Five explained. “We’d sneak out at night and eat as many donuts as we could. I remember puking on some occasions.” he grinned even wider.<br/>“Worth it.” April said, grinning back. “Wanna go in?”<br/>Five nodded, and the two of them went inside. They found a booth at the end of the store, and were soon approached by a waitress. Without missing a beat, Five ordered a black coffee, and April a chocolate milk. She also ordered a raspberry jelly donut, and a chocolate iced one for Five. They received their order rather quickly, and April watched as Five raced to get a bite of his donut.<br/>“Just how I remember.” He said, smiling. April once again felt overjoyed seeing Five happy. <br/>“You know, I don’t care what you think. You’re adorable.” she said, sipping her chocolate milk.<br/>Five’s cheeks went pink. “Whatever. Have you seen yourself?”<br/>April gave him a ‘are you fucking serious’ look. “Yeah. Literal spawn of Satan, what’s your point.”<br/>“I don’t see that.” Five said. “I see probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”<br/>April smiled even more. She was still getting used to the way compliments worked. That and a few other things that went with a relationship. But so far, everything seemed just fine, and that was keeping her more than happy.</p><p>In front of her, Five sighed almost uncomfortably.<br/>“I-uh, I’m not sure how to perfectly address this, but it’s probably something I should get out of the way. I don’t really know how relationships work-”<br/>April thought she must have manifested this. That or hers and Five’s thoughts had impeccable timing.<br/>“I guess it’s the whole being alone thing.” Five continued, “I’ve never known what any of this is like, I don’t know about what to do around physical affection, what’s best to do at what points in the relationship, any of that. I just don’t know.”<br/>April chewed on the inside of her mouth briefly. She wasn’t really sure what to say, except thatshe didn’t really know how relationships worked, either. Of course, she had been exposed to all kinds of things, the media for one, but it never provided a good example of a relationship that wasn’t polluted with some dramatic issue that Magnus, after seeing the same storylines for hundreds of years, considered boring and predictable. She knew perfectly well that every relationship was different, too. But she wanted to say something that would reassure Five, without saying something the wrong way. Before she could begin to explain, Five spoke again.<br/>“I did what I did last night without any further thought, really. I just- I saw you, you were tired, you hadn’t had a good day, and really, more than anything I wanted to hold you closer and tell you everything was going to be okay.” he reached over the table and took April’s hand. “And I just thought very briefly that I may as well stop holding back, like I had been for the past month or so. And it made me even happier when you said you’re happy with it. I just don’t know what to do next.”</p><p>Thankfully, the shop was filled with customers, meaning their conversation wasn’t likely to be overheard. Five looked at April, and it seemed to her that he was a bit nervous. She didn’t want him to be uneasy about being in a relationship with her, but to her that seemed a little difficult to achieve when she felt the exact same way, after being hurt so many times throughout her life. She didn’t want him to hide anything from her, and she didn’t want to have to hide anything from him.<br/>“I’ll be honest with you.” she said, gently rubbing her thumb over the back of Five’s hand. “I don’t know a lot either. Yeah, I’ve seen things but they’re not the same, purely because no two relationships are the same. And personally I believe there aren’t any rules that we have to follow, just societal norms. I think, that we should just love each other in whatever way we are both comfortable with. Whatever other people do be damned.” She gave Five a half smile, to which he returned a wider one.<br/>“That makes me feel a bit better about it all.” he said, “I just want to make sure that you’re happy and comfortable.”<br/>“I am, Five. Trust me.” April said, placing her other hand on top of Five’s. “I want you to get the love you deserve after so many years on your own.” she reached up and softly stroked his cheek. As she touched him, Five’s face lit up, and it once again filled her with joy knowing that it was her that caused that smile to grow on his face, and she couldn’t wait to do it again. </p><p>When they left the shop, they made a detour through the park, which didn’t last long, due to April’s muscles aching in protest.<br/>“What did I tell you?” Five asked, putting an arm around April and smirking.<br/>“Shut up. I wanted to go out.” April said irritably. “Just don’t tell Dad, though he’d probably find out his own way. He is magical afterall.”<br/>After a partially difficult walk back to the apartment, April was finally persuaded to take pain relief, much to her dismay. The entire time he spoke, Five looked at her with so much concern, she couldn’t really say no. He even held her hand as she struggled to swallow the tablets. Gagging slightly, and shivering at the feeling of the tablets sliding down her throat, she did it. When she looked back at Five, he was smiling at her.<br/>“Was that so bad?” he asked, gently squeezing her hand.<br/>“I hated it.” April said irritably. But it wasn’t long until she softened up again, when Five sat on the couch and gestured for her to join him. April didn’t remember doing anything else for the rest of the day, only lying with her head in Five’s lap, music playing softly in the background. The entire time, she looked up at him, just admiring how incredible he looked as he stroked her hair. Every so often, she would gently guide his head down to kiss him on the cheek. When night fell, dinner was simply peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, which had become a regular ‘we had a busy day and or we can’t be arsed doing anything else’ kind of meal.<br/>They then resumed cuddling in April’s bedroom, and if April was completely honest with herself, she would willingly skip the following day’s mission, just to stay holding onto Five. His warmth and the overall feeling of Five’s body against hers was something that never failed to enthrall her. She understood seeing someone and experiencing joy, that happened when she saw her family all the time. But she had no idea that holding and being held by a certain someone could bring such a warmth to her entire body.</p><p>And that was what seemed to happen every night over the weeks that followed. Work at the commission continued to wear the both of them out, so usually they ended up falling asleep on the couch. Training was still vigorous, though April did seem to find that Magnus was being a tad more lenient compared to how he was before Asmodeus’ last visit. The Handler had even caught on about April and Five’s relationship status, because she seemed to smirk at them every time she assigned them missions. </p><p>With the passing days, April started to notice how tired Five was becoming. On numerous evenings she found him scrawling painful looking calculations in notebooks, and constantly drinking coffee. And every night without fail, she would sit down next to him and calmly attempt at convincing him to give himself a break.<br/>“I know how much you want to solve this, babe,” she said one night. She wrapped her arms around Five as he snapped shut the notebook he held. “But like I’ve said before, you just need to calm down a bit, y’know?”<br/>Five leaned back on the couch and moved his hair out of his face. “I know that, but I can’t help it. I just want to stop this.” <br/>“I know you do,” April said softly. “You have so much time, remember?”<br/>“I just feel like I’m doing nothing, though.” Five said weakly. “I kill people almost every day, and every time I eventually feel guilty about it. So I guess I’m doing this because I wanna feel like I’m doing something good for once.” he sighed unhappily.<br/>“I get that it’s hard to feel like you’re doing anything good when you do this for a job. But you really are doing a lot.” April said. She took Five’s hand, it was warm from holding the mug of coffee that now sat empty on the table in front of them. “And I’ve probably said it before, and I am going to say it again. You have done so much just by being here. Without you just sitting here right now, we would have no chance at saving the world. So right now, you are doing more than enough, and I want you to rest.” she kissed Five softly on the cheek. <br/>“Alright.” Five said. This time, he sounded less irritated, but still April could hear how tired he was. “For you, darling.”<br/>“And your family.” April added. “We don’t need you going clinically insane before trying to save the world. Sound fair?” she looked at Five, who gave her a warm smile.<br/>“Sure does.” Five murmured, and he gave April a soft kiss on the lips. And there they sat, just enjoying each other’s embrace, as they did every evening whilst knowing that the day to come promised no sleep-in, but instead another trip to another era in time. Off to kill someone that more than likely didn’t deserve it.</p><p>~~</p><p>“The victim and all relevant information is on the sheet, as per usual, remember commission protocol, don’t get caught, don’t take too long.” The Handler explained in a bored tone.<br/>“You don’t need to lecture us over and over,” Five said waspishly, picking up the briefcase they were given. “We’re not kids.”<br/>The Handler smirked that same old horrible smirk. April scowled back at her and flipped open the sheet of paper she was handed.<br/>“1972. Alright then.” she said bluntly. “Lets get it over with.” <br/>They left the Handler’s office without saying another word to her, and stopped half way down the corridor.<br/>“Motel cleaner.” April said, gazing at the paper still. “This’ll be boring.”<br/>“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this whole job is boring, and unsatisfactory.” Five said, taking April’s hand and flipping a switch on the briefcase. In an instant, they materialised on a street, someplace in 1972.<br/>“Are you alright, babe?” April asked, squeezing Five’s hand gently. He was quick to turn and look at her.<br/>“You’ve just been so uptight all morning.” she said with a worried tone.<br/>“I’m really starting to get sick of this.” Five admitted, as they walked down the street. It was sunset, in where she assumed was Los Angeles. And after checking the sheet of paper, she found that she was correct.</p><p>“It’s incredibly tiring.” Five continued. “And I feel horrible about what I’ve done. My capabilities be damned. I don’t understand how you aren’t feeling the same way?”<br/>“I am, Five!” April exclaimed. She placed her hands on Five’s arms and they stopped walking.<br/>“I’ve felt like shit about this since the first person I assassinated. I hated it, and so did Dad. But, it’s been so long now, and I’ve just gone numb. I still feel that guilt all the time but, I guess I’ve just learned to ignore it.”<br/>“It’s in your nature to be merciless, it’s going to be easier for you to deal with.” Five said irritably. He made to continue walking but April gripped onto him tighter.<br/>“HEY! Don’t say that!” April snapped.<br/>“You shouldn’t be ignoring the truth!” Five retorted. He held an irritated expression towards April, one that almost hurt to look at. Although, she did know Five wasn’t completely in his right mind, he seemed to be like that on missions sometimes.<br/>“It’s not the truth, Five, please don’t jump to conclusions!” She said with not anger, but near pain. “That is not the case! I am always conscious of what I’m doing, who I’m killing, and I know that it’s wrong. What I did to my grandfather, those horns, my eyes, that’s when I really lose my cool, that’s when I don’t care who ends up dead. Anything less than that, I’m just forcing myself to work effectively, and I hate it.”<br/>April watched as Five’s expression softened ever so slightly, yet he still looked so tired and upset.<br/>“I want this to stop.” April continued. “I’m tired of seeing you like this. I know that all you want is to stop this apocalypse, and save your family-”<br/>“And you.” Five added in a small voice. April made an attempt at a half smile.<br/>“-and the truth is, I want to as well. I don’t want the world to end because that shit terrifies me. Death is my greatest fear and I walk on the edge of that cliff every day anyway. Just, please, try to pull through with me. Some time soon we’ll get out of here, save the world and I don’t know, rest for once in our lives. Please?” April looked hopefully at Five, whose face had lost all traces of anger. There was no other way to put it, he looked <i>so sad</i>.<br/>“I’m sorry.” He said weakly. He held April’s hands tight as ever in his. “I keep going back there and reliving things I don’t want to see. I’m just getting more and more paranoid by the day and this work I’m doing is only making me feel worse about all of this.” he paused and took in a shaky breath. “I know I have so much time left but- i- it’s just really hard to keep my head around. I’m really sorry for losing my cool, babe.”<br/>“It’s fine,” April said softly, as she pulled Five into a hug. “I just want you safe and as close to happy as I can get.”<br/>“I’m pretty damn happy just being near you.” Five kissed April’s cheek, and kept an arm around her as they continued walking down the street. Eventually they came to a motel, which looked better than what the sheet of paper depicted.</p><p>“How should we go about this?” April asked, analysing the sign to the Motel.<br/>“Wait for someone to leave, hide, wait for the cleaner, kill her. Simple as that.” Five said. Now that they were getting on with the job, he sounded a bit more up to it, but April knew it was only a mask.<br/>“I have a better idea.” April said. She crossed the parking lot and peeked into the window of the office. She glanced at the walls where the room keys were kept, then walked back over to Five.<br/>“Get us into that room on the end there.” She pointed to the other end of the motel. Five nodded and took her hand, and the two of them blinked into the room.<br/>“The key is still in the office, so it’s unoccupied.” April explained, and with a swift wave of her hands, the room fell into a shambles. The covers on the two single beds flew open and the sheets were left messy. The two chairs that accompanied a small round table slid to different ends of the room, and the tea and coffee samples flew onto the floor. Satisfied with her work, she looked to Five and grinned. <br/>“All we need to do now is put this out.” she crossed the room and picked up a small sign asking for room service, and placed it on the outside of the front door.<br/>“How exactly are we going to do this?” Five asked, as he slid open the door to a large closet.<br/>“I can’t be bothered doing much. I’ll give her fourth-degree burns or something. Info says she did martial arts as a kid, so whether that actually comes into play or not-”<br/>“We’ll work it out.” Five said, and he took April’s hand and guided her into the closet, which he then quietly slid closed.<br/>April didn’t pay attention to how long they waited in the stifling closet, she only focused on Five, and how he was trembling ever so slightly. Multiple times, she wanted to whisper to him if he was okay, but she didn’t want to risk it. Instead she stayed still, and appreciated how his arm sat around her, and how it reassured her somehow. She briefly thought over their conversation earlier, her mind continued to linger over how Five was feeling about everything, and how much she wanted to fix that. But the amount of things going wrong in the Shadow world, and general work at the Commission didn’t seem to cater for that, and it only made April feel worse for him, and for herself, too. She wanted nothing more than to leave her work as an assassin for good, she wanted to go with Five to save the world, and spend time with him that wasn’t rippled with fear of an impending apocalypse. She hoped with every fibre of her being that all would turn out fine in the end. The both of them had had more than their fair share of trauma.</p><p>Finally, the door to the motel room opened, and a cleaner stepped inside. April knew, looking through a crack in the door, that she was their target. She was a thin woman with wild, curly hair that was pushed back with a patterned headband. She took one look at the room and muttered to herself, “Holy shit, these people are animals.”</p><p>April briefly felt Five’s breath against her cheek.<br/>“I’ll blink over there and distract her, then you do your thing, okay?” he whispered. April merely nodded, despite the situation they were in, Five’s whisper was still so calming to hear. She kept her eyes on the cleaner, who had started to pick up the tea and coffee samples that were strewn across the floor. Five shifted a little next to her, then seconds later blinked away. April had assumed that he would have taken a more subtle approach, but realised she was sorely mistaken as she watched Five appear behind the woman and kick her to the floor, and proceed to tackle her down.<br/>The cleaner, despite being obviously startled, and in pain, wasted no time in fighting back.<br/>“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” she shouted, as she punched Five across the face, knocking him over. April winced at the sight of it, and wanted nothing more than to fight back immediately, but she stayed rooted to the ground.</p><p>Five didn’t miss a beat. Brushing his face with his hand, and ignoring his bleeding lip, he stumbled to his feet and with an expression of pure malice, he launched himself on top of the cleaner, pinning her to the floor once again.<br/>“GET. OFF. ME!” the woman shouted, and somehow, she managed to push Five off her. April had definitely seen him work better than this, but she knew how he felt about it all, and decided to make a move. <br/>She slid open the closet door and headed straight for the woman, fire flickering from her hands.<br/>“What the hell?!” the woman shouted before April gave her a swift punch in the jaw. By the looks of things, she might have knocked out a few teeth.<br/>“What do you kids want with me?!” the cleaner yelled, shuffling across the floor towards a wall.<br/>“We don’t want any trouble.” Five said, clenching his fists and standing next to April. The glow of her eyes was now the only source of light in the room, for the lamp that was once turned on had been smashed.<br/>“Just get away from me!”<br/>“Do us a favour and just shut up.” Five said with ease, and he headed towards the woman once again, but she was too fast for him. With a hard-soled foot, she kicked Five in the stomach, and he collapsed onto the floor, groaning in pain.</p><p>April took one look at Five, and she felt rage boil up inside her. Seeing him crumpled on the floor in agony was enough to set her off. Contrary to what she had said before, she wasn’t faking it this time.<br/>The woman held an angered expression, probably thinking that she could beat whatever strange fire April held. Oh how mistaken she was.<br/>“That’s it.” April said firmly. “I’ve had enough of you.”<br/>She grabbed the woman by the collar and in one swift movement, threw her across the room, completely dodging Five, who was trying to get to his feet.<br/>“I’ll finish this off.” April said, as she ran for the woman, and pinned her to the floor. She placed her hands, that were a painfully bright yellow, flames still whirling around them, and wrapped them around the woman’s neck. She didn’t even have time to scream, for her neck was enveloped in fourth-degree burns, evidently killing her. </p><p>April stepped back and eyed the mess, it was horrible. Blood splattered against the walls and bed sheets, paired with the putrid scent of burning flesh. What was left of the woman lay in a mess on the floor, standing the carpet. April hurried across the room to Five, who looked incredibly unhappy.<br/>“You okay?”<br/>Five shook his head. “I’ll be able to walk, but holy shit does it hurt. Can we get out of here?” he winced and clutched his stomach. April wanted nothing more than to go home and look after Five, but they were faced with one final issue. Sirens in the distance were steadily growing louder, and eventually, pulsing red and blue lights shone in through the thin curtained windows. <br/>“Oh shit. Where’s the briefcase?!” April whirled around on her feet, but there was no sign of the briefcase.<br/>“This isn’t good.” Five muttered.<br/>“Where the hell is it?!” April called. She still looked around the room, hoping the briefcase would miraculously show up.<br/>“I must have left it on the street!” Five shouted. April made an angered growl.<br/>“It’s okay, I’m not mad at you, we can get out of here.” she was breathing very quickly, and her heart was pounding. Never in her career had she been in such a situation.<br/>“I could probably blink once.” Five said. He raised his arm, and April stepped over to him and held on. “It’s not going to get us far, we’ll have to run for it.” <br/>“Five, you’re only going to hurt yourself more-”<br/>“We have no other choice, April!” Five said angrily. Reluctantly, April nodded, and with a painful expression, Five managed to blink the two of them next to the motel office.<br/>“C’mon, April. Stay close to me okay?”<br/>“Five, I’m scared!” April said. It was the last thing she wanted to say, but now she was shaking, refusing to take a step.<br/>“I now, hun, this is scary, but you need to run!” Five said, the blue and red lights only made the blood on his face shine, and the bitter wind against his hair only made him look worse. April took one look back at the room they were once in, which was now being stormed by police officers.<br/>“APRIL RUN!” Five may have shouted a bit too loud, because it seemed that they had caught the attention of an officer.<br/>April heard a very distant “HEY!” before turning back to Five, and finally she ran. They sprinted down the road, ignoring every panicked and confused expression from the public. Of course it looked horrible to them, two kids running for their lives, covered in blood. One of them even had fire blazing at her fingertips. In front of her, April could see Five struggling to run. He had a limp, and every so often he would bend over at the pain in his stomach. For a moment she thought only of being at home with him, holding him close to her, that feeling of hopeless joy and safety in his embrace… <br/>“APRIL WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”<br/>She was on her knees, crying. She couldn’t bear seeing him like this. Scared, hurting. As much as he seemed to be against it, Five hurried back for her, a desperate, pleading look in his eyes. Tears seemed to be falling down his face, too. They weren’t made for this, why were they still here?<br/>“HANDS UP! BOTH OF YOU!”<br/>The police had caught up with them. Those pulsing lights made April’s eyes ache irritably, and reminded her too much of the past. Next to her, Five fell to his knees and the both of them raised their hands above their heads. April continued to sob out of pure fear, thinking only of how they were probably never going to get out of this. She didn’t even care about what the Handler would think, or do, she just wanted at home with Five, and Magnus, Alec and Max. She couldn’t help but wonder why it was too much to ask for.</p><p>Neither of them spoke as they were handcuffed and forced into cars. She didn’t even pay attention to anything that happened between then and the moment they were pushed into a cell. There was no way they couldn’t be proven not guilty, they were still covered in blood. The cell they were in had a very small view of the reception to the police station. Every so often April would glance up from the corner where she was curled up, only to see officer after officer discussing their actions. Five paced the cell, he was furious beyond anything April had seen before. But that fit of rage didn’t seem to last long, because eventually he gave up on pacing and sat down next to her. He brought his arms around her and held her tightly. April collapsed into his embrace and more tears silently fell. She was thankful more than ever that Five was there with her, otherwise what would she have done?<br/>“I’m sorry.” Five mumbled, resting his head against hers. Despite the dirt and blood, he was still warm and comforting as ever. April rested her head against his chest. <br/>“I’m sorry this had to happen.” he continued. His voice broke ever so slightly, and April knew he was probably on the verge of tears.<br/>“Please don’t apologise.” April said quietly. “It wasn’t your fault.”<br/>“I can’t help it.” Five said. “Today just wasn’t it for us.”<br/>“Never will be.” April admitted. “We can’t just be good at this again, not with everything going on.” she clung on to the collar of Five’s shirt. “I want to go home.”<br/>“Me too, hun. Me too.”<br/>Tears still slid down April’s cheeks. As she held onto Five she could only think of how much she wanted to be out of this situation. Stuck in a cell, in a time period she didn’t even belong in. And there was no clear sign of them getting away from this easily. The evidence was all around them, and they could only hope for a miracle. She could tell, just by listening to Five’s breath, and feeling how fast his heart was beating, that he hated this just as much as she did. Not to mention how much pain he was in, and everything that was going on in his head, too. For once April was thankful that she looked like a child, because maybe the police would be nicer, perhaps. But then it dawned on her that someone was bound to have seen her use her magic, and that hope she had was quick to diminish. </p><p>“What d’you think she’ll do to us?” April mumbled. She shifted so that her head lay in the crook of Five’s neck. Simply resting her head there made her feel so much safer, it was probably why she did it so much.<br/>“Not a lot, probably.” Five said quietly. “Probably yell at us and leave it at that. We’re the best she has so she probably doesn’t want to lose us.”<br/>“She’ll lose us eventually, anyway. And she can deal with it.” April said grumpily. “I want to sleep.”<br/>“You could try, but I’m not sure how well you’ll sleep.” Five admitted. He tightened his grip around her, and she snuggled closer to him.<br/>“Five I want to go home.” April mumbled. She knew she had said it already, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She just wanted to be at home.<br/>“I know babe.” Five whispered shakily. He kept his head close to hers. “We’ll go home, okay? J-just not now.”<br/>“I-I just want to go home.” April said again. Five hugged her even tighter, which she didn’t think would be possible. “I know, okay? I know. Just hold on for me. I’m scared, too, but I’ll make sure we get home.” Five murmured. That was the last thing he said that night, except for the occasional “You okay?” whenever April shifted. She never really fell asleep, instead she only dozed in and out of a light but conscious haze, which made the night drag on for even longer. Eventually her mind just went numb of all thought. Just as Five had said, they <i>were</i> going to go home, but it really was only a matter of when. The only thing that she seemed to be worried about was what damage had been done back at the commission, despite how much she hated the place, it was something she couldn’t help but have cross her mind. Not only that, but more importantly she kept on thinking about Magnus, and how he would feel about it all. Her first thought was that he would fire back at the Handler for not doing something sooner, or would he be too angered at hers and Five’s actions? Either outcome was just as likely as one another. At the end of her chain of thoughts, she concluded that she didn’t really care what the Handler’s or Magnus’ reactions were, she just wanted to be at home. It was a simple ask that seemed so far away, and that was what hurt her the most.</p><p>~~</p><p>April and Five spent the morning lying on the floor of the cell, staring at what little they could see of the front reception. They had come to the conclusion at sunrise that the Handler was bound to come for them eventually, as much as she probably was reluctant to. <br/>“How’s your stomach?” April said quietly, looking over to Five. Without speaking, Five tried to sit up, but winced horribly and lay back down. <br/>“I will punch that woman if she doesn’t give you leave.” April said irritably.<br/>“Thanks.” Five said, sighing unhappily and staring up at the ceiling. “And if she leaves us here-”<br/>“I’ll punch her again.” <br/>“Rightfully so.” Five reached out and nudged his hand against hers. “You feeling okay babe?”<br/>April shrugged. “I’ve been better.” <br/>“Yeah, me too. Just try to stay hopeful, okay?”<br/>“But that’s difficult.” April gave Five a small pout.<br/>“I think you’re just being a bit paranoid about this.” Five admitted. “The worst that can happen is the Handler getting mad at us, or even firing us, which is actually better-”<br/>“You’re right.” April said, turning over to face Five. “I’m paranoid. It’s just that last night was terrifying, nothing went to plan.”<br/>Five nodded. He propped his head up on his arm and sighed. “Just goes to show what happens when you really hate your job.”<br/>April made an expression that said “Yeah, that sounds about right”. “It all happened so fast as well. I’m still processing.” <br/>“We’re going to be fine. As much as it may not seem like it, I know we will. It’ll just take time.” Five said softly. He tried his best to smile, but his tired eyes didn’t seem to want to cooperate. April sat up and placed her hands on Five’s cheeks. She still hadn’t been given the chance to get the blood off her hands, and she didn’t want to try and use magic in case of being caught.<br/>“You’re a mess.” She said.<br/>“Mentally, yeah I know that. Physically, I’m not surprised.” Five said, smirking. April continued to look at Five with concern. <br/>“You look so tired, Five. Did you sleep at all?”<br/>“Too sore.” Five said, shaking his head a little. April sighed.<br/>“I really can’t stand seeing you like this-”<br/>“April please, you don’t need to worry about me. Look, I’m here, I’m okay.”<br/>“Yeah but you’re not!” April pouted again. “You’re tired and in pain. I’m worried about you and I can’t help it alright?”<br/>“I guess I can’t really talk.” Five said, sitting up with difficulty. “Not a day goes by where I worry about you.”<br/>“Five-”<br/>“Don’t tell me that I don’t need to worry, because I do. All of that stuff you’ve been through, everything you’ve told me about and that I have witnessed, I don’t want it to happen again. And I can’t help but want to constantly know that you are okay and happy. That is why I worry, April. I want to protect you.”<br/>April looked at Five with tired eyes. “That means the world to me.” she said softly. She tried her best to smile widely, but it was hard when accompanied with a strong will to sleep. </p><p>Behind her, April heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and turned around to see an unforgiving looking police officer in front of the cell.<br/>“Alright you two,” He said, bringing forth a set of keys, “off to court.”<br/>April felt her stomach drop. There was no way they were going to get out of this. She took one more fearful look towards Five before the officer began to unlock the cell. She tried her best to keep herself calm, but it really was no use. Just as the officer was opening the cell door, a voice sounded from the reception.<br/>“Excuse me? Is someone there?”<br/>The officer looked from April and Five to the reception. <br/>“Don’t move. Or it’ll be straight to prison for the both of you.” he walked away towards the reception.<br/>They didn’t even need to communicate. April and Five snuck carefully out of the cell, and stood in the doorway to the reception. Upon seeing who stood in front of the desk, April rolled her eyes and stifled a groan.</p><p>None other than Magnus, completely dressed up in a leather coat, under which his BLINK IF YOU WANT ME shirt was glittering, with a set of pants in a matching colour. He wore almost every ring and earring he owned, and to top it all off, he wore the most outrageous, purple glittery sunglasses April had ever laid her eyes on. It all made her want to disappear right then and there, and after glancing at Five, she was convinced that he felt the same way.<br/>“Can I help you?” the officer sounded incredibly uninterested.<br/>“I’m here to enquire about your most recent arrest.” Magnus said with so much formality it made April cringe.<br/>“Two children, no older than fourteen, convicted murderers of a motel cleaner and <i>incredibly</i> dangerous. Why does it concern you?”<br/>Even through the bright purple, sparkling sunglasses that Magnus wore, April could see that he had made eye contact with her. She seized the opportunity to give him a ‘what in all living hell are you doing?!’ look.<br/>“I daresay two children could be capable of such things.” Magnus said. He bent down briefly and when he stood up, he was holding Max, who was wearing an almost identical outfit, sunglasses and all, except his t-shirt read DON’T BLINK HE’S TAKEN BY MY DADDY.<br/>April massaged her temples furiously. Five looked equally as unimpressed, but whatever he was feeling could never amount to the urge April had to lock herself back in that cell. <br/>“They were at the scene of the crime.” the officer said in a bored tone. “Covered in blood and <i>crying</i>. Must have been under the influence or something.”<br/>April saw a flicker of worry pass on Magnus’ face. <br/>“Can I talk to them?”<br/>“No, sir.”<br/>“Give me a good reason why not.” Magnus snapped. Max looked at the officer with the same firm expression that Magnus held, and April was yet to decide whether it was adorable or not.<br/>“They are due to go to court for sentencing. Incredibly guilty, at least 10 years is my bet.”<br/>“I want to talk to them. Now.” Magnus said, lowering his shades a little, revealing the cat eyes April knew only too well.<br/>“I said no, sir. I’ll have to ask you to leave now.”<br/>“Wait!” Max raised a chubby hand and looked at the officer, who still didn’t seem to care that the toddler before him was a bright shade of blue.<br/>“What is it, Blueberry?” Magnus asked softly. Max briefly shoved his fist into the pocket of his coat, then withdrew it. He waited only for a second, then with no remorse, threw a great handful of glitter right into the face of the officer, who near-instantly passed out. April recognised the glitter all too well. Magnus had used it on numerous missions to wipe the memories of mundanes.</p><p>“Thank you for your time,” Magnus said to the unconscious officer, “I’ll be taking my daughter and potential-son-in-law-to-be back home, now.” He gestured for Five and April to follow him, and with Max in one hand, and a briefcase in the other, he left the police station.<br/>“Dunno if I should be proud to say I’m related to the both of them.” April said, taking Five’s hand. The two of them met Magnus just a little off from the police station, where he was adjusting the settings on the briefcase.<br/>“How perfect was that?!” he exclaimed upon their arrival, “That was probably the best bailing-out I’ve ever done! And did you see Max?!”<br/>“So you don’t care that we screwed up the timeline?” April asked with caution.<br/>“I’m incredibly disappointed.” Magnus said a bit too pleasantly, “I would ground you if you weren’t so old. And I don’t feel like it, anyway.”<br/>Five held a perplexed expression.<br/>“That’s his way of saying ‘no I’m not, but please don’t do it again.’” April said quietly. Five nodded, but continued to keep his eyes on Magnus.<br/>“I’m just thinking about what my father would say if they met.” Five replied, “I feel that your dad puts on a great underestimation at first glance.”<br/>“I don’t think Reggie would make it to see the next day.” April admitted. She too looked at Magnus, who now had Max sitting on his shoulders.<br/>“I must add,” Magnus said, taking April’s hand, “She’s furious with both of you, but wants to see April alone.”<br/>“I don’t think she’ll live to see tomorrow either.” April snarled. Within seconds, they reappeared at the Commission, right in front of the Handler’s office. April’s mood had switched completely, she had no plans to take any of the Handler’s words to heart, even if that meant leaving the room mid-conversation. Five looked towards her with worry.<br/>“I’ll be fine, okay?” She gave Five a swift kiss on the cheek before resuming a disgruntled attitude, and making her way into the Handler’s office.</p><p>“Well, where should I begin?”<br/>Usually, the Handler had a smirk to accompany statements like this, but this time, she wore a cold expression that despite her best efforts, had no effect on April, who said nothing.<br/>“I give you a simple task, and you may have succeeded, but you also managed to attract the attention of the authorities and end up in jail for a night, potentially making things worse by almost being sentenced until your Father came and bailed your asses back here. I want an explanation.”<br/>“Why isn’t Five in here too?” April asked waspishly. The Handler was quick to respond.<br/>“You are my best agent and out of the two of you, I expected better.” she walked around her desk and stood in front of it, now less than a metre from where April stood.<br/>“I’m not in a position to explain myself. Not when they regard personal issues between us.” April said firmly. She continued to stare the Handler dead in the eyes.<br/>“I don’t care.” She said, “I want answers.”<br/>“I have every right not to give them.”<br/>“You really are a stubborn little shit, aren’t you?” The Handler said, now becoming more irritated.<br/>“Nice to see you’ve finally caught on.” April gave her a nasty grin.<br/>“Don’t get smart with me.”<br/>“I’ll do what I want, thanks.”<br/>“Just tell me why and how you screwed up so bad.” The Handler stepped a little closer to April, “I’ve had to send numerous corrections agents after you to clean up the mess you and Number Five made, it is only fair I know why.”<br/>“The why stays between me and Five.” April said coldly, “The how is that circumstances didn’t work in our favour.”<br/>“It can’t be as simple as that.” the Handler said in disbelief.<br/>“Well, it is. Can I go now?” <br/>“I’m not finished with you.” the Handler put down the cigarette she had been holding. “Tell me why.”<br/>“Is your skull really that thick?!” April retorted, “Because your pea-sized brain doesn’t seem to have registered what I said before!”<br/>“As your employer I have the right to know why work isn’t being done to standard, Bane! I’ve had enough of your comments!”<br/>“What a shame.” April said calmly, “Because I was only just getting started.”<br/>“Just. Tell. Me.” the Handler said through gritted teeth. April was finding that winding up the Handler was only too much fun. So with a mischievous grin, she leaned forward so that her eyes were only inches from her’s and said,<br/>“No.”</p><p>It all happened so fast, April had no time to react. The Handler had become so furious with her, that she took her hand, and with the force of so many moments where she had been outsmarted, she smacked April right across the face. One of her heavily manicured nails even left a cut that now dripped blood. April staggered back slightly, a hand hovering over the now reddening mark on her cheek.<br/>“Did you just slap me?” she said with disbelief, looking up at the Handler, who seemed satisfied with her work. April’s eyes were now flickering orange.<br/>“I’ll do it again if it’ll make you talk.” she said more calmly.<br/>April shook her head. She wasn’t going to waste her time talking her way out of this. Magic flickering between her hands, April lunged at the Handler, but was caught by a set of arms. <br/>“April! Cut it out!” <br/>Magnus kept a firm hold over April, who still struggled to break free. When she whirled around in his grip, she found that he still wore those purple glitter sunglasses.<br/>“Just let me kill the bitch already! I’ve had it with her!”<br/>“April, you need to calm right down!” Magnus said, pulling her towards Five, who brought his arms around her.<br/>“C’mon April, deep breaths please.” Five said. He placed a hand gently on her cheek and assessed the cut the Handler had left. April tried to do as Five asked and calm herself down, but it really was no use.<br/>“What did you do?!” Magnus shouted. The Handler was now sitting on her desk, having scrambled upon it to avoid April.<br/>“What was necessary.” She said with a cold tone. Magnus stepped towards her, infuriated.<br/>“I don’t want to see you treating my daughter like that ever again, do I make myself clear?!” blue sparks sprang from the finger he jabbed in the Handler’s direction. They didn’t even wait for a response, Magnus led the way out of the room, and Five and April followed. None of them spoke until they made it all the way back to outside Magnus’ apartment. Since they had first left for the mission, the whole day had passed, and night had fallen.<br/>“I don’t want you taking orders from that woman unless you hear it from me first.” He said firmly as they approached his apartment door. “Now I want you two to go upstairs and rest.”<br/>“We’re not kids, Dad.” April said bluntly.<br/>“I’m well aware.” Magnus said, “But I care about both of you and I want you two to get some sleep, you’ve had none for hours.” he then disappeared into the apartment. </p><p>April was still heated over the past day’s events. Her mind was still taking everything in. When she and Five entered the apartment, she headed straight for the couch and lay down. For once, she had no interest in talking, she just wanted to try and calm down, because despite everything that had happened, it was still terrifying, even if it seemed that there would be no immediate consequences. Five didn’t look too happy, either. He closed the apartment door and disappeared into his bedroom. Part of April wanted to go after him, and maybe talk it all out, but something kept her on the couch. Some kind of unwillingness to move, and instead sit in a pool of muddled thoughts. She didn’t even remotely know what she was feeling, the cut that the Handler had left on her cheek stung irritably as she remembered the way she slapped her face. At that thought, anger rose in her, but only briefly. It was replaced with vague views of where she was only hours before. Knelt against the cold concrete, knowing only too well how much she had screwed up.</p><p>April subconsciously turned on some music. The music she chose was slow, just a collection of songs she usually had in the background when she had nothing better to do. When the speakers finally connected and started playing, April rested her phone on the coffee table and stared up at the ceiling. Usually, this music at this time of night brought her some kind of happiness, but on this occasion, it just didn’t. Eventually, Five reemerged from his bedroom, having left his blazer behind, and collapsed onto the armchair. He took one look at April before looking back at his feet. April didn’t understand what was stopping either of them from talking. Maybe it was the fact that they finally had the time to take in the conversation they had, how they wanted nothing more than to leave work for good, and maybe lessen the pain upon their backs. But it was incredibly inconvenient, and that was probably what Five was stuck thinking about, how badly he wanted to get on with stopping the apocalypse, but in the given circumstances… <br/>For a moment April thought it may have been her stopping Five from doing what he came here to do, but she was quick to reassure herself that it was the contract he was following, one that both of them were willing to break. In her head she heard Five telling her it wasn’t her fault, even if he had never directly said that before. It eased her, and then she gazed at him. He just seemed so tired. Tired from the day, tired of the work he was forced to do, tired of it all. The poor old man had so much pressure upon him and it made April hurt. </p><p>A song that never failed to rile up April’s emotions came on. One that always sounded so good through those speakers. One that sent her stomach swirling.</p><p>
  <i>We fight, we get high, holding onto love…</i>
</p><p>April had a fleeting urge to turn the music off. She only knew that it was going to make her feel worse. She reached for her phone but stopped when she noticed Five gently tapping his fingers with the music.</p><p>
  <i>Is it wrong that I still wonder where you are…</i>
</p><p>She resumed staring at the ceiling. The last thing she wanted was to break down with no explanation. But the words stung her just like they did every time. </p><p>
  <i>Another Friday night, tryna put on a show…<br/>Do you hate the weekend cuz nobody’s calling?</i>
</p><p>She couldn’t handle it, and it was only the first pre-chorus. Reluctantly, she sat up to leave, but found Five standing in her way. There wasn’t a trace of a smile on his face, just those same tired eyes. But there was something about the way he looked, the way he was holding his hand out to her. His expression only spoke one word to her. <i>Please</i>.</p><p>
  <i>I’ve still got so much love hidden beneath this skin</i>
</p><p>April took his hand, and Five placed it on his shoulder. He guided her to an open part of the living room, and wrapped his arms around her waist. April brought her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He kept his head close to hers, and together they swayed to the music. Now in Five’s embrace, the music felt different to April, given her current feelings, it was worse. But she kept on listening, and kept holding on.</p><p>
  <i>When the lights come up and there’s no shadows dancing,<br/>I look around as my heart is collapsing,<br/>cuz you’re the only one I need, <br/>To put a little love on me</i>
</p><p>In the apartment above, the music seemed to have trailed from an open window below to the open balcony door. Magnus and Alec sat peacefully on the couch, simply gazing at each other. It seemed to them there was nothing better than ignoring the world’s current events, and just taking the time to enjoy each other’s presence. When the music met their ears, Max, who was rolling around on the floor, made a small curious noise.<br/>Magnus made a warm smile, and got to his feet.<br/>“May I have this dance, Alexander?”</p><p>
  <i>We wrote, and we wrote, till there were no more words,<br/>We laughed, and we cried, till we saw our worst…</i>
</p><p>April became lost in thought. She couldn’t help but think back to the arrest. She seemed unable to ignore how it felt in that cell, how the both of them were helpless and scared. <i>Like kids</i>.<br/>Something about that caused tears to fall down her cheeks again. She knew perfectly well that Five was there, that he was safe at home with her, but her mind still thought back to how he looked as they escaped. The pure fear in his eyes, mixed with the dirt and blood splattered on his face. It almost looked like he had been back to the apocalypse, and that triggered something in her. She didn’t want him to have nightmares, she didn’t want to see him fearing the future, or experiencing painful flashbacks, because she knew how that all felt, and all she wanted was for Five to be happy.</p><p>
  <i>Do you hate the weekend, cuz nobody’s calling…</i>
</p><p>Five wasn’t happy, and April knew it. She could hear his breath shaking, and the occasional tear falling onto her. They were both in pain, some kind of pain that they couldn’t put into words.</p><p>
  <i>Put a little love on me,<br/>When the lights come up and there’s no shadows dancing,<br/>I look around as my heart is collapsing…</i>
</p><p>Magnus guided Alec through the living room, giving him the occasional twirl, to which he smiled wider. Every time Max saw Alec spin around, he let out an excited laugh. When they stepped back into the centre of the room, Magnus flicked a wrist, and the furniture went sliding to the walls, and he lifted Max up. Both Magnus and Alec held onto Max as they spun around once again, then stepped slowly in time with the music. All three of them wore wide smiles, enjoying that rare moment they had to be free.</p><p>
  <i>Last night I lay awake,<br/>Stuck on the things we say,<br/>And when I close my eyes the first thing I hear you say is…</i>
</p><p>April didn’t even try to stem the flow of tears, her emotions were just too much for her to handle anymore. Five seemed to be feeling the same way, it was like they had both wordlessly agreed that now was a time to release trapped feelings. Feelings about anything and everything, because it just seemed to be one of those moments. </p><p>
  <i>Put a little love on me, <br/>Put a little love on me…</i>
</p><p>The final chorus was nearing, and April felt her heart speed up. She knew how much it hurt every time, yet she would listen and listen, because music was usually such an incredible escape for her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and for the first time she looked up at Five, who’s eyes were too shining with tears. He tried to force a smile but the both of them knew that it was no use.</p><p>Magnus always liked to give Alec one massive spin as that final chorus began, He loved the way that Alec smiled widely at him, then pulled him in closely to sway softly to the final notes of the song. Max giggled because by this point, he knew that they were going to spin around again, and it had grown to be his favourite part, the way that the world would blur as he circled round and round in the arms of his Dads. </p><p>Slowly the music grew louder, and louder, and April took a sharp intake of breath.</p><p>
  <i>When the lights come up we’re the only ones dancing, I look around and you’re standing there asking…</i>
</p><p>Five’s grip tightened around her as she put her head on his shoulder once again, trying to stem the flow of tears.<br/>Everything just seemed so out of reach, and the forces against them were only getting worse. It was just her and Five against the world, putting their lives on the line before the apocalypse can even think about taking them, and being scolded over things that shouldn’t even matter, but the world was so complicated that all of a sudden they did. The way the song moved April unlike any other time she had listened to it was painfully enjoyable, the way that sounds were woven together to create three minutes and forty four seconds of terrible, aching bliss.<br/>She heard Five sob, and realised that they had stopped moving.</p><p>
  <i>You’re the only one I need,<br/>Put your love on me.</i>
</p><p>The final notes of piano began to fade, and were replaced by their own shuddering breaths, and eventually silence. Surprisingly, after nearly four minutes of crying, April felt lighter. She knew that in the morning she would probably feel foolish, but she also knew very well that crying was okay, and healthy, so she tried to convince herself that there was no reason to apologise to Five, or anything like that.</p><p>“I feel better now.” She whispered.<br/>“Good.” Five whispered back, “Me too.”<br/>There was another moment of silence, in which April realized her tears had soaked right through Five’s shirt.<br/>“I think it’s about time we went to sleep.” Five murmured. April nodded, and she led the way into her bedroom, where she collapsed into bed without a second thought, and fell asleep as soon as she felt Five’s arms wrap around her once again and his lips against her cheek.</p><p>She was happy to be home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Song in the chapter is Put a Little Love on Me by Niall Horan for anyone wondering :)</p><p>Times I almost cried count: too many.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Return Trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not one promise can go without being broken in this family, I swear...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello hello!</p><p>By gawd this was fun, but painful to write. Lots of near-crying if I'm completely honest.</p><p>I guess thats what happens when you create a world you love so much *sighs*</p><p>I'm trying my best to make my chapters a bit shorter, because it has come to my attention that they are kinda long... I'm just one for writing a lot I guess heheh.</p><p>aight, enjoy the chapter! *disappears*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“This is incredibly unfair.”<br/>“No it isn’t. It’s an advantage, Firefly.”<br/>“I beg to differ.”<br/>Magnus leaned on his cue and looked across the pool table at April, who had her hands on her hips.<br/>“It’s just a small trick, it’s not doing any harm!”<br/>“It’s. Not. Fair.”<br/>“Why?”<br/>“Not everyone can do that!” April exclaimed, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.<br/>“You’re just jealous you can’t do it.” Magnus said, lining up his cue and knocking one of the few balls on the table. The ball made a small jump over one obstructing it’s path, then fell neatly into a hole.<br/>“It’s unfair.” April said again irritably.<br/>“Just play the game, babe! The world doesn’t depend on it!”<br/>Five sat at the bar next to the pool table, downing the last of a whiskey.<br/>“Shut up, Five.”<br/>Five rolled his eyes and leaned over the bar.<br/>“Hey barman! Or woman, should I say-”<br/>“Oi!” April called, dropping her cue. “No more drinks!”<br/>Five growled unhappily. Maia, who stood at the other end of the bar cleaning glasses, glanced over and sniggered.<br/>“I’ve only had two!” Five complained. April gave him a disapproving stare.<br/>“You know I don’t like it. And your little body won’t handle the alcohol too well.”<br/>“Fine.”</p><p>“April! Did you forfeit?” Magnus was still standing at the other end of the pool table. Picking up her cue, April walked back to the table and half-arsed her shot, knocking in the eight ball too early. Responding to Magnus’ howling laughter, she made a disappointed hiss and walked over to the bar and slumped into the seat next to Five.<br/>“I think you’re a bit of a sore loser, babe.”<br/>“I’m just sick of his ‘tricks’.” April said. She whirled around and looked down the bar.<br/>“Maia! D’you have chocolate milk?”<br/>“This is a bar, April.” Maia said, walking over to her with a small grin.<br/>“I’ve been here so many times, you should at least have one carton.”<br/>Maia shook her head, to which April responded with another sigh.<br/>“Fine. Apple juice?”</p><p>Two glasses of apple juice later, Magnus had challenged Five to a game of pool, and for once, he was <i>losing</i>.<br/>“Your tricks can’t save you now.” April said, laughing. She watched as Five, with the most stern and concentrated face she had ever seen, sent another ball speeding into a hole. She came to the conclusion that Five was still salty about the fact that she had stopped him from having any more drinks. But they had discussed this, April was fine with Five drinking, but it never failed to make her anxious that he would have too much, and Five was well aware of that, so they decided to just communicate between one another at the time, without letting each other be too controlling.</p><p>Magnus was starting to take the lead once again, probably because Five seemed to be distracted by April, who in her cat form, walked up and down the pool table, occasionally nudging him and lying in the way of the game.<br/>“You do know you’re making me lose, right?” Five said as he gently petted her head.<br/>“If you want to show me up for my ‘cheating’, Five’s got a point.” Magnus said, and he crossed the room to take a sip of his drink. April didn’t care, annoying the both of them was fun. She climbed up Five’s arm and onto his shoulders, where she managed to lay around them like a scarf, and rest her head in the crook of his neck. Doing this had become frequent ever since they had begun the ‘try and beat Magnus at pool for once’ ritual every week. So far, they had failed.<br/>April enjoyed laying upon Five’s shoulders as a cat, because it made watching a game of pool much more interesting. It also gave her more opportunity to cuddle into her favourite person. Five bent down and focused on the ball he was trying to hit. His breath was slow and steady, and eyes narrowed with concentration. Despite being incredibly comfortable, April slid off Five’s shoulders and onto the table, where she eyed the ball closely, then nodded her head before jumping out of the way. Five hit the ball, and much to both his and April’s surprise, it jumped.</p><p>“Okay now THAT is unfair.” Magnus said with outrage. “That’s my trick, and my trick only!”<br/>April leapt off the table and resumed her human appearance. “Whatever, Dad. I think <i>you’re</i> the sore loser.”<br/>“Nobody’s won yet, so don’t get too hopeful.” Magnus said, pointing to April. He leaned his cue against the table and picked up his phone, which was ringing. He disappeared into a corner of the room to answer it, the last thing April heard was a sweet “Hello, darling.”<br/>“Using Alec as an excuse, I assume.” April said, now sipping on her third apple juice.<br/>“And you’re telling me not to drink.” Five said, sitting down next to her.<br/>“This is apple juice! Go on, have some if you don’t believe me.” April said, sliding the glass along the bar.<br/>“I do believe you, hun.” Five said with a grin. “But don’t mind if I do.” He gulped half of the glass.<br/>“Five!” April said, laughing. Five laughed and handed the glass back to her.<br/>“You know I only keep an eye on you because I don’t want you to lose yourself and do something regrettable.”<br/>“I know that.” Five said, still holding a small grin. “It’s probably better that way. Still not a hundred percent okay in the head.” he gestured to his head as he spoke.<br/>“But I don’t want you to feel controlled or anything like that-”<br/>“No. The way you’re going about it is fine. They way you just give me a heads up is all I need.”<br/>“Sorry for being paranoid-”<br/>“Hey. None of that apologising. You’re allowed to dislike stuff.” Five shuffled closer to April and kissed her cheek. When she turned her head to look at him, up close she could see some darkness under his eyes.<br/>“Have you been sleeping okay, hun? Your eyes look a bit dark.” she ran a finger gently under his eye.<br/>“Hm, sort of. At least not recently.” Five said quietly. “Just been thinking about a lot lately. World saving stuff, usually.”<br/>“I thought I told you to try not to worry about that, Five.”<br/>“Sometimes I can’t help it. I remember all that stuff you’ve said but every so often I just find myself worrying.”<br/>April looked at Five with concern. “D’you want some kind of sleeping medication or something?”<br/>Five shook his head. “No, I’ll be fine. If I look at you long enough, that should help me.”<br/>“Aw, stop it.” April said, turning away with a grin. Five gently pushed her head to face him and he kissed her on the cheek once again. <br/>“I love you, April.”<br/>“We both know I love you more.”<br/>“I highly doubt that.” Five rested his forehead against hers, and pressed yet another kiss to her cheek. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, smiling at the feeling of Five’s lips slowly trailing across to hers…</p><p>“Oi, you two can kiss later. We’re leaving.” Magnus said, waving his hand to clear the pool table. He looked slightly unhappy.<br/>“Why?” April said, leaning back from Five reluctantly, and instead taking his hand. “Is something wrong?”<br/>“Uh, Alec’s just had a rough night. I want to get home and look after him. I uh- would also recommend that you two came home and got some rest. I expect you’ll be working tomorrow.” Magnus sighed. He seemed to be incredibly careful with his words. Without waiting for a response, he conjured a portal and disappeared. April continued to look at the spot where he stood, worried.<br/>“Things must be getting worse.”<br/>“You’re not thinking about the arrest, are you?” Five said, bringing his arm around her. <br/>It had been nearly three weeks since April and Five were arrested in 1972, and still, anomalies that had been linked to it still cropped up in places, even in the shadow world. Shadowhunters were having to work longer and harder, and it seemed so out of the blue.<br/>“Well, shit’s still happening because of us, I’m just wondering if-”<br/>“You’re probably right.” Five said. “And I hate to bring it up but I wonder if your grandfather has anything to do with this, too.”<br/>April raised her eyebrows. “Probably, now that you mention it. And usually that makes me incredibly anxious, but Dad won’t let me near him or any of that nowadays.”<br/>“That’s good.” Five said, “One less thing I need to worry about.”<br/>“Hey, you’re the one to blame for your worrying.” April said jokingly.<br/>“But that’s what comes with being in love! You just worry, and worry-”<br/>“Alright you’ve made your point!” April rolled her eyes and stood up, casting a portal.<br/>“And you keep worrying and worrying and worrying-”<br/>“I’m never letting you have that whiskey ever again.”</p><p>They portalled straight into Five’s bedroom, where Five kicked off his shoes and blazer, pulled open the bed sheets and lay down.<br/>“And worrying and worrying a-”<br/>“Okay Five, you can stop no- SHUT UP!”<br/>“Okay, okay.” Five said with a laugh. He lay back and held out his arms. “Cuddles?”<br/>April smiled, and snapped her fingers as she made her way to the bed. Her outfit replaced itself with the only clean oversized t-shirt she had available. A black one with glittered writing that said KEEP ON BLINKING HE LIKES THE ATTENTION, gifted to her by none other than Magnus. She fell into Five’s open arms and smiled, it was that wonderful time of night where the two of them could just get lost in each other’s embrace, and forget everything else. April had learnt that Five was one primarily for giving and receiving hugs, probably because of the zero touch he had received in the past 45 years. He also enjoyed giving her soft, slow kisses. And whether they were just on her cheek or full on the lips, he somehow never failed to weaken her, in a sense.</p><p>Five wrapped the blankets around the two of them, and kissed April’s forehead. April snuggled as close as she could to Five, at least without pushing him off the bed. <br/>“You’re so cute, you know that?” she said, resting her head as close as she could to Five’s.<br/>“You’re just saying that because I look like a kid.”<br/>“No, I’m not. We’ve been over this.”<br/>“Well what would you say if I were, well, in my right body.”<br/>“Still cute.”<br/>Five raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?”<br/>“Yeah! With your cute little dimple and that cute smile. Not to mention your eyes, too. What if you had a cute little moustache?” April grinned gave Five a small boop on the nose.<br/>“I don’t deserve you.” he murmured, and kissed her cheek. </p><p>There was then a moment where all that could be heard was the faint sound of each other’s breath, and the distant sounds of the city below. Five kept his arms wrapped tight around April, who was curled up in his embrace with her head resting gently next to his. Just as he always did, Five every so often pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, it was his way of telling her ‘I love you so much’ in times where there was no real need to speak. She had figured that Magnus and Alec would be doing the same thing, just relaxing given that Alec had returned from a gruelling mission, but what she was hearing, travelling through the open windows, said otherwise.</p><p>“-not want to risk it again, there has to be other options.”<br/>“Magnus I don’t like this as much as you do, but we don’t have many other options. No other, really.”<br/>“I have told you, everything that has happened. I can’t afford to put-”<br/>“What else are we supposed to do?!”</p><p>They both seemed angered, and Magnus with a hint of upset. Five seemed to have caught on too because he lifted his head slightly to listen. </p><p>“I would do it myself.”<br/>“I can’t let you do that, you wouldn’t be able to.”<br/>“We really can’t work this out because we both care too much, don’t we?!”<br/>“Yes! But- We really need to do something about this. Multiple worlds are at stake-”<br/>“Alec, I know. I know full well that we need to do something about this. But I can’t just force her into this again. She’ll break under the pressure, I don’t want to lose my only daughter-”</p><p>April sat up. Her stomach had dropped and heart sped up. What Magnus had said brought her no ease. She looked at Five, who shared the same panicked expression. He tightened his grip around her as they listened to the last of the conversation. At this point, Magnus had accepted defeat.</p><p>“It’s the only real chance we have, babe I’m sorry.”<br/>“No harm done. I’ll talk to her in the morning.”</p><p>The last thing they heard was the closing of the window below, and April sighed unhappily. <br/>“I don’t know what they want,” she said quietly, “but I already know that I’m not going to like it.”<br/>Five gave her a gentle tug to get her to lie down. She followed it, and cuddled into Five, who rested his head by hers.<br/>“It’ll be okay.” he said softly.<br/>“Sure. None of that sounded good and now I’m scared.”<br/>“He won’t force you into anything that would put you in danger-”<br/>“Just stop trying to reassure me because it's not really working. You heard him say he doesn’t want to lose me, what else could he be making me do?”<br/>“You’re overthinking it.” Five said. He spoke so gently that it somehow did calm her. Maybe she was overthinking it.<br/>“He’ll probably reconsider, you know he wouldn’t make you do anything that would hurt you. I’m gonna make sure of that, okay?”<br/>April nodded. “Thank you, babe.” she whispered, kissing him. Even as she lay there, slowly dozing off while Five stroked her hair, April still worried over Magnus and Alec’s conversation. She knew right from the moment they left the bar that something wasn’t right, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to wait all night to find out what it was all about.<br/>“I know you’re still awake.” Five whispered. “You’re going to be absolutely fine, okay? I’ll make sure of it.” he kissed her cheek and rested his head right next to hers. There was something about the way he spoke that seemed to April as though he was trying to reassure himself at the same time. And of course she didn’t blame him, she knew how much Five didn’t want to lose her. </p><p>~~</p><p>April had nothing on her mind from the moment she woke up, except for worry about what Magnus was going to say to her. She and Five had slept right through to midday, but that was no excuse to not have breakfast. Every so often, April’s eyes flicked to the front door, which stayed motionless as she stood leaning on the kitchen counter, sipping a hot chocolate. Now that the weather was getting colder, chocolate milk on it’s own did nothing to warm her body.<br/>“I know you’re worried.” Five said. He was standing in the kitchen, covering two slices of toast with peanut butter, “But I don’t think it’ll be much. Remember what I said last night?”<br/>“Remember what <i>he</i> said last night?” April replied. “I’m still not convinced that it’s nothing, and I don’t think you are, either.” she gave him a ‘you can stop trying to be super optimistic now’ look.<br/>Five sighed as he closed the pantry. “It goes without saying. Of course I’m worried. We were even talking about this at the bar.”<br/>“It’s only a matter of time before Dad comes in here and upsets me.”<br/>“You know it’s not his fault. We both heard how upset he sounded.” Five said, softening his voice. He leaned over the counter and took April’s hands. “Whatever it is, babe, no matter what happens, I’m gonna be there next to you. There’s nothing that can stop me from protecting you.” he softly kissed her hand.<br/>“Thank you.” April said, giving a small smile. “But I don’t want you to get hurt-”<br/>“It’ll be fine. Just take some deep breaths, okay?”<br/>April did as Five suggested and tried to breathe slowly. It didn’t do anything to quell the swirling feeling in her stomach.<br/>“I can’t just stand here.” she said all of a sudden. Her mind didn’t even give her time to process the thought. “I’m going to ask him.” <br/>“I’m not going to advise against it, but just be careful.” Five said, downing the last of his coffee and abandoning his toast to follow April, who was already reaching for the front door handle. She saw no point in waiting around. Magnus was probably going to stall anyway, making the wait even worse.</p><p>April jumped the last two steps and hurried to Magnus’ front door, which she opened with no hesitation. Inside, Magnus was seated on the couch, reading one of the numerous books from the great big shelf that lined one of the walls. Alec seemed to be pacing the room, and Max was crawling on the ceiling.<br/>“Just tell me.” April said, closing the front door. Five blinked into the room next to her, and Magnus jumped. April held a firm expression towards Magnus whilst he sighed and stood up.<br/>“How much did you hear?” He said sternly.<br/>“The end half.” April said, she cast a quick glance at Max, who was sitting directly above Five, and reaching his chubby blue fingers in an attempt to touch his hair, “And I’ve been anxious ever since.”<br/>Magnus crossed the room and brought Max down from the ceiling. He didn’t at all look comfortable with the situation. <br/>“I know this isn’t going to be easy for you to hear, April.” he handed Max to Alec then sat back down on the couch. “But as you know, since you attacked your grandfather, there has been a heavy increase in demonic activity. And it has gotten to a point where it’s becoming incredibly difficult to handle, so something needs to be done.”<br/>There was a few seconds of silence, in which Magnus sighed and looked helplessly at Alec, before turning back to April. At this point, she knew what was coming but refused point blank to believe it.<br/>“We need you to travel to Hell.”</p><p>April went numb. She had assured herself that Magnus wouldn’t make her go through such things again. She didn’t even register how much he looked as though he didn’t want this to happen. She was only filled with anger.<br/>“No.”</p><p>Magnus looked at her with pained eyes.<br/>“I know, I said that this wouldn’t happen again, April. Bu-”<br/>“You lied to me.”<br/>“I didn’t mean for it to go this way. We have no other choice.”<br/>April looked at Magnus with disbelief. He <i>promised</i> her that she would never go through such things again. Next to her, Five was silent and simply looked at her with utter concern.<br/>“You can’t make me go back.”<br/>“We have no choice, April. Please just don’t overrea-”<br/>“Dad, Lucifer will kill me! He’ll kill me!” tears now welled up in her eyes and her hands began to shake.<br/>“April, just listen for a moment.” Magnus said, stepping closer to her. “You are the only one capable of doing enough damage to put a stop to this. It’s all you need to do. You don’t need to try and kill him.”<br/>“You know he’ll do it anyway. You said it yesterday, you don’t want to lose me so why would you risk it anyway?” April said fearfully.<br/>“You’re our only hope.”</p><p>April thought only of her first experience in Hell. Every surge of pain she felt, every time Lucifer’s unforgiving eyes met hers. Screams echoed in her head, and it was enough to set her off.<br/>“I can’t go back there!” she shouted. “You said I would never go back!”<br/>“April I explained this to you already!” Magnus shouted back. “I know how much this hurts for you because it hurts me too! You’re working yourself up far too much for this!”<br/>“I can’t help it! Not when you spend decades lying to me!”<br/>Five reached for April’s hand. “C’mon, April just calm down a little, please.”<br/>April turned to Five, she could see how scared he looked, and briefly she wanted to stop everything and try to reassure him, but Magnus was still glaring at her.<br/>“I know I’ve said it to you thousands of times, but the world is unpredictable and sometimes promises are bent!”<br/>“Yeah well this one’s shattered to pieces!” April exploded. “You said you meant it but that’s total bullshit! I’m never going back there and you can’t make me!”<br/>“April, please!” Magnus’ voice broke as he yelled. It was then that for a fleeting moment, April realised that she was touching a nerve. Every time April was thrown into a situation like this, she would argue, and argue, and argue. All because Magnus said to her over and over how he would put a stop to it all, but it never seemed to happen.<br/>“Every time something like this happens you always argue with me! I know these things traumatize you, I know how much it hurts! But some things just cannot be avoided! I don’t want this to happen! None of us do! But if you don’t try we’ll all die!”<br/>“I’D RATHER DIE HERE THAN AT THE HANDS OF THAT MONSTER!” April yelled. “THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO MAKE ME LEAVE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER I SURVIVE!”<br/>“I am getting incredibly SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR ATTITUDE!” Magnus yelled even louder. Max, who was still in Alec’s arms, covered his ears with his hands.<br/>“I’VE SAID IT BEFORE BUT I AM SAYING IT AGAIN. I DON’T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, BUT WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE!”<br/>“THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING ELSE, DAD! ANYTHING ELSE THAT WON’T PUSH ME TO MY BREAKING POINT! SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T HURT THE WRONG PEOPLE!” April’s voice broke over and over. Tears dripped from her eyes as she gave Magnus a wrathful stare that looked as though it could radicalise all of humanity. Magnus looked beside himself with worry and irritability.<br/>“April, we have tried to think of <i>every</i> possible way to keep you safe while trying to fix this. But there is nothing else!”<br/>“You said last night that you would do it yourself if it meant we were safe!”<br/>“And we decided against that!”<br/>“Why, dad?! WHY?!”<br/>“BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE EVERYONE I LOVE, KNOWING THAT I WON’T COME BACK! I KNOW THAT THERE IS A CHANCE WHERE WE WON’T LOSE ANYONE AND THAT CHANCE IS YOU, APRIL!”<br/>“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT I WON’T FAIL!? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT I WON’T BE SO SCARED THAT I JUST FREEZE?! FOR FUCK’S SAKE DAD, HE’LL KILL ME!”<br/>Magnus was probably thankful that his apartment was soundproof to every floor below it. </p><p>The whole time April and Magnus argued, Five stood to the side, looking incredibly worried. Alec stood at the other end of the room, still holding Max who continued to cover his ears.<br/>Magnus sighed. “Okay, April, I don’t want to argue about this anymore. As much as none of us want it, you’re going to Hell and you’re going to do the job. If worst comes to worst I’ll come, but you have to go on your own.”<br/>April shook her head in disbelief, she didn’t even bother to wipe the tears on her cheeks. She looked at Five, who looked almost as hurt as she did. She felt as though she may have held Five for the last time already, and it did her no good.<br/>“No. I’m not going. You can’t make me.”<br/>Without another word, she stormed from the apartment and disappeared upstairs. She needed time to take everything in and maybe even try to calm herself down, but she knew for a fact that she hadn’t finished with Magnus.</p><p>~~</p><p>Magnus sighed angrily and tore off after April, leaving Five, Alec and Max in the apartment below. Five blinked across the room and onto the couch where he then looked up to Alec.<br/>“There’s really no other way?”<br/>Alec shook his head. He placed Max on the ground then sat down on the couch across from Five. “Sending April is a last resort for anything. I’ve heard about all she’s been through and doing this really is the last thing any of us want to do. She’s delicate but it’s her abilities that can get us through.”<br/>“I understand that.” Five said. He fiddled uncomfortably with the hem of his blazer. “I just don’t want to lose her. I don’t want her to get hurt or anything like that. In all the years I’ve lived I’ve never experienced love like this, and I don’t want it to go away so quickly.”<br/>“I know the feeling.” Alec said. “Well, not perfectly, but I know how it feels to love someone that’s always risking their lives. It hurts to see the both of them so upset at each other all the time.”<br/>“That stuff’s normal?” Five gestured a hand to the ceiling, from which could be heard April and Magnus’ muffled yells.<br/>“It’s not the first time. She’ll hear one thing about Hell, anything to do with experiencing the source of her trauma and she just loses it. Poor thing.”<br/>“It hurts seeing her like that. I only want her to be happy.” Five said sadly. A lump formed in his throat when he said that. The prospect of April going away was finally fully dawning on him, and he was already predicting the worst.<br/>“I want Magnus to be happy, too. I want nothing more than for the both of them to be happy. But happiness is just so hard to come by when you live a life like this.” Alec said with an air of helplessness.<br/>“I guess that’s what drives you to love them even more.” Five said.<br/>Alec nodded. “Warlocks never have it easy. The burden from being the child of a demon is more than enough.” </p><p>“I just- I can’t really think of what to say except how much it must hurt. Everything the both of them have been through-”<br/>“It’s no wonder they’re starting to get sick of each other.”<br/>“Sick of each other? I didn’t think it was that bad-”<br/>Alec shook his head. “Before you came along, they weren’t on the best of terms. Training wasn’t doing her any good and work was nowhere near enjoyable, still isn’t-”<br/>“I make it just bearable.” Five added with a half smile.<br/>“Yeah, exactly.” Alec said, returning the smile. “But a good mood from her was rare. You’ve definitely made her a bit more tolerable.”<br/>“How did Magnus feel about that? Her being all-”<br/>“He was pissed. As capable as April is to live on her own, Magnus is just too protective and wary of her. Her entire being is so fragile, of course you know that.”<br/>Five nodded and thought of how much he longed to forever hold April close to him, just so he knew that she was safe and happy.<br/>Alec sighed and watched Max roll around on the floor. “They’re problematic, but we love them with all our hearts.” He forced a laugh.<br/>“They need to be given the love they’ve waited too long for, and I’m sure April’s thinking the same thing about me-”<br/>“It goes without saying, Five. Half a century without so much as the ability to talk to someone else. You deserve it as much as they do.”<br/>“And what about you?”<br/>“I still have a whole life ahead of me. Of course, I’m no less deserving of love but- I don’t know how to word it. You three have seen shit I haven’t.”<br/>“I get it.” Five said. He was slowly fading out of the conversation and his focus drifted upstairs.</p><p>He gazed away from Alec and listened to April’s voice upstairs. She sounded so upset and it only made him hurt even more. The last thing that he wanted was to have held her for one last time, and not even know it. The thought overwhelmed him.<br/>“I don’t want her to go, Alec.” he said, his voice broke slightly.<br/>“I know, Five, seriously. I care about her too, and I really don’t want to put her in any more danger. But there isn’t anything else we can do.”<br/>“What if he does hurt her? What’ll we do then?” Five was feeling no better about this. “I would never forgive myself.” <br/>“There’s no need for you to feel that way if that did happen.” Alec said, “Magnus and I aren’t going to let that happen because we know how much she means to you. We care just as much as you do.”<br/>“Alec, I’d die if she goes through that portal and never comes back. She’s my everything, and I need to know that she is okay, and right now I know she’s not.”<br/>He froze for a moment before sighing impatiently. The silence was broken by the sound of something shattering against solid ground.<br/>“Look, I can’t stay in here much longer. I need to see her.”<br/>“Absolutely.” Alec said. Five rose from the couch and hurried to the front door. As he pulled it open, Alec said one last thing.<br/>“Five, I’m sorry this has to happen.” He looked at Five with a hurt but understanding expression.<br/>“It’s okay. It’ll be fine.” Five said, though he didn’t entirely trust his words. He left the apartment without saying anything more, and half-ran up the stairs.</p><p>~~</p><p> </p><p>April stared at the glass she had thrown to the floor without remorse. Magnus looked at her emotionlessly.<br/>“You are acting like a child, April.”<br/>“What else do you expect?!” April exploded. At this point every word she shouted only made her more and more sick of this. In her eyes, Magnus just couldn’t understand why she had to sacrifice herself again. “I have told you already-”<br/>“And I have told YOU already!” Magnus yelled, jabbing a finger at her. “I have nothing else to say! I don’t want this to happen, but it has to! I am finished arguing with you!”<br/>April heaved a sigh and continued to look at her father with distaste. In her head, she continued to plot how she could still yet get herself out of this, but she couldn’t think of anything other than yelling. <br/>“But you said it, you said it to my face! That you wou-”<br/>It seemed to be the last straw for Magnus. Cutting April off completely, he crossed the room towards her and placed a glowing blue hand to her temple. The last thing she saw before her eyes fell shut was Five bursting through the front door.</p><p>April collapsed and fell backwards, and Five was just in time to catch her. Magnus sighed heavily and looked down at her. That wave of guilt he knew would come was finally washing over him, and boy did it hurt.<br/>“The hell did you do?!” Five said, holding April tight in his arms.<br/>“Knocked her out.” Magnus said airily. “In a nicer way.”<br/>“She drove you <i>that</i> crazy?”<br/>“It’s been known to happen. Multiple times.”<br/>Five shrugged in a way that said ‘I can’t blame you for that’ with some reluctance. Magnus cleared the shattered glass with a wave of his hand, then kneeled down and helped Five lift April.<br/>“She’ll be out for a good few hours but honestly, it’s best for her. Just keep an eye on her and try to keep her calm. But there really is nothing else we can do except try and give her hardcore therapy afterwards.”<br/>Five gave him an apprehensive look. <br/>“I’m sure you’ve heard that magic is too risky. Look, we’ll just work it out afterwards. I need a break.” <br/>Five nodded, and the two of them carried April into the bedroom. Five sat down on the bed next to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Magnus stood at the doorway and looked back with a soft smile. Something warmed his heart, seeing his daughter being taken care of so wonderfully.<br/>“She really has found the best person in the entire time and space continuum, hasn’t she?”<br/>Five looked up at Magnus and gave a quick smile. He looked as though he went to speak, but Magnus didn’t want to linger. He knew April was in good hands, and wanted to catch a rest while he still could. Five would understand. </p><p>Magnus closed the door to his apartment with a little too much force, but it didn’t seem to bother Alec, who had been sitting on the couch waiting for him.<br/>“You don’t need to say it.” Magnus said, sitting down next to Alec, who brought his arms around him. “There really is nothing else we can do.”<br/>“You seemed to calm her down real quick.” Alec said, bringing his head closer to Magnus. <br/>“Yeah, I just forced her to take a nap, if you know what I mean.” he lifted a hand, which emitted a few blue sparks. “She’ll be okay. Five’s got her.”<br/>The two of them sighed in unison, something that usually made at least one of them grin.<br/>“I still feel horrible about all this.” Alec admitted. “There-”<br/>“Yeah, I know, okay? I don’t want you feeling bad, hun. Please.” Magnus brought his hand tighter around Alec’s.<br/>“But we both saw how upset she was. You can’t really help but-”<br/>“Look, I’d rather not dwell on that. The sooner it’s done, the better. I’m- I’m really fearing the worst right now, and it’s not setting right with me.”<br/>“Hey, we both know how powerful she is, she will be fine if she’s careful.”<br/>“I know, but it’s not that. It’s something else. Nothing about her survival or anything like that. Something I’ve been thinking about for a few decades.”<br/>“Oh?”<br/>“I’m trying to convince myself I’m wrong. There’s a higher chance of it being false but the evidence says otherwise.”<br/>“Do you want to explain this to me?”<br/>Magnus shook his head. “I don’t want to speak too soon.”<br/>“I respect that.” Alec said, bringing Magnus into a tighter embrace. “We’ll get through this. I promise, my darling.”</p><p>~~</p><p><i>Ah, shit. Dad shouldn’t be allowed to do that.</i><br/>April rolled over and turned on her phone, which read three minutes past two. Sitting up, she felt a familiar wave of nausea, and as her mind woke up, she immediately wanted to pass out again.<br/>There was no way she could sleep. Knowing her, she was probably going to fall to the floor and have another flashback, just like only weeks before. The fear of that was going to keep her up regardless, unless she was too numb to think about it all.<br/>Looking around, April noticed the bed next to her looked as if it had too been slept in, and only seconds later she noticed that Five was standing on the balcony, a mug of what she assumed was coffee in his hand.<br/>April slowly made her way out of bed and stepped out onto the balcony as quietly as her bare feet would let her. She wrapped her arms around from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. He made a small jump, but very quickly responded by placing the mug of coffee on the small table beside him, and placed his hands on hers.<br/>“Shouldn’t you be asleep, Fivey?”<br/>Despite the circumstances, Five seemed unable to help the tiny smile that crept on his face at being called ‘Fivey’, a nickname only April was ever allowed to call him. <br/>“Sleep? Never heard of it.”<br/>April’s face fell. She took a hand and shifted the mug out of his reach.<br/>“Hey,” Five said softly, “You think I can sleep worrying about this?”<br/>“No.” April said in almost a whisper. “I don’t want to do this, Five.”<br/>“Neither.” Five said, he turned so that April could see the fear in his eyes, something she had hoped she would never have to see again.<br/>“I don't want to let go. Please don’t go, April.” his voice shook and a tear fell down his cheek. April felt herself weaken, and she too felt a tear fall down her cheek. “Please don’t cry, Five.”<br/>“I won’t have to if you don’t go.” Five broke down, he buried his head into April’s shoulder, and the two of them sobbed. Now, more than ever, April wanted to stay where she was. Safe in Five’s embrace. But there was nothing that could be done. Every part of her kept her rooted to the ground, except for a tiny monster in her head, screaming out in protest.<br/>“Five, I have to go.” she said, without even thinking about it. Five straightened up and looked at her, stunned.<br/>“Not now. Please.”<br/>“I have to.” April said, squeezing him tightly. “I have to, I can’t sit here feeling sick, I have to go. I just- I have to.”<br/>Keeping a firm hold of Five’s hand, April led him downstairs to Magnus’ apartment, where she once again opened the door and entered without so much as knocking. Inside, Magnus was pacing the room, still fully dressed. He whirled around quickly at the sound of the door opening. <br/>“Firefly, I’m sorry for befo-”<br/>“I’m going now, Dad.”<br/>Magnus’ face fell, as if every friend he’d ever had betrayed him. He too, looked as if he were on the verge of tears.<br/>“Sweetie-”<br/>“Now, Dad!” April shouted. Another few tears fell, and she felt Five’s grip tighten. Every fibre of her being wanted to turn around, to go back to bed and wait for the morning, but she stood there crying, wanting it to all be over already, there was no use in waiting.</p><p>Magnus seemed to be mentally gathering himself as he pulled on a coat and conjured a portal.<br/>“We’ll be stationed at the infinite switchboard, watching everything. No one sleeps until you return.”<br/>Nodding, April and Five stepped through the portal, followed by Magnus and Alec, carrying Max. The portal opened out into a commission corridor, completely deserted except for one woman, the Handler. <br/>“It is two in the morning, Bane-”<br/>“Shut up. If you want a timeline to maintain then you will operate this switchboard before the world is obliterated, you hear me?” Magnus was firm with his tone. The Handler remained silent as she walked alongside him, receiving numerous glares from Alec, who despite it all, looked incredibly tired. April was still numb of all thought, all except one, a pure urge to slaughter the man that made all of this happen, no matter how impossible it seemed. </p><p>Magnus lifted a hand, and the door standing directly in front of them flew open. The Handler, with a cold and uninterested expression, hurried forward and dismissed the few analysts in the room with a firm “Out, all of you!”<br/>Entering the room, April watched as the Handler flicked switches and every screen around them lit up. They remained static until Magnus pushed a button, and the scene of Hell sent a fiery glow through the room. At the sight of that horrific place, the dusty stone floor, and eventually flickering to the hall of a fortress, in which a thin man in a pitch black suit, with golden eyes and slitted pupils sat on a throne. April choked on the air sitting in her already dry throat and staggered backwards, Five was quick to catch her.<br/>“C’mon, babe. Everything’s going to be fine, you’ll be okay I promise.” he muttered, despite how uncertain he clearly was. April shook her head, the pounding in her heart making her fear that if she opened her mouth, out would come more than words.<br/>Magnus kneeled down in front of her. “Firefly, you’ve come this far, you’re going to be okay-”<br/>“No. He’s going to hurt me, Dad. I can’t do this anymore.” she could feel Five gripping tighter onto her, and she would give anything for it to stay that way, but she took Magnus’ outstretched hand and accepted the hug he pulled her into.<br/>“You are the strongest woman I know, and I’m prouder than ever to call you my daughter. This is scary for all of us, but no one can do it but you. We’ll all be here waiting for you when you come back.”<br/>“What if I don’t come back?”<br/>Instead of a silence hanging in the air, as per usual, Magnus was quick to respond.<br/>“You will come back, my dear. Hell stands no chance against you.”</p><p>That final sentence resonated in her more than she thought it would, and April reluctantly left Magnus’ embrace, and faced the only blank wall in the room. </p><p>
  <i>Hell stands no chance</i>
</p><p>April felt the warm glow in her eyes creep forth, and tossed magic between her fingers. In one swift movement, she conjured a portal, the most lethal one she had ever made. The sight of it brought back that same sickening feeling, and her lip trembled as she looked further.<br/>“April!”<br/>She whirled around to see Five, looking as if he could cry again, but he was doing everything in his power to be strong. April gave in to all temptation and pulled him into one final embrace, where she clung on as tight as ever, every part of her screaming and begging that it wasn’t the last time.<br/>“Promise you’ll come back. Promise me.” Five said, now shaking. April tried her best to swallow the lump in her throat, and she took in a shuddering breath.<br/>“Even if it meant losing all else, I promise I’ll come back. I promise.”<br/>She didn’t even have time to take another breath before hers and Five’s lips collided, and the roar of the portal behind her seemed to fall silent. April relished in the feeling of being safe in Five’s embrace, feeling every part of him against her before she had to let go. And the last glimpse of him that she received was one where he looked broken, as if it were certain that they would never meet again. Hell was an unforgiving place, afterall.</p><p>April took one final look at Magnus, who nodded towards the portal with a pained expression. She didn’t try to speak out of fear of collapsing, and instead looked to the portal. Through the whirls of yellow, orange and deep red, she could see the faint silhouettes of demons crawling along the desolate ground. There was something about their grotesque figures that transformed April’s fear to rage, and she took a step closer to the portal. <br/>She had a promise to fulfil, and Hell didn’t stand a chance.<br/>Turning around to face everyone, she felt a faint breeze against her back, one that was gradually pulling her inwards. As she took in another unsteady breath, she noticed Max, who sat in Alec's arms, reaching out one hand and flexing his fingers towards her. She had never seen her little brother so upset.</p><p>Ignoring the way her voice broke, April said with what diminishing bravery she had left,</p><p>“I’d like a tall glass of chocolate milk upon my return.”</p><p>Without another word, she let herself fall backwards into the portal, and the infinite switchboard room, along with everyone in it dissolved from view.</p><p>The pain in her back from hitting the solid ground was the least of her worries, and so were the demons that looked down at her with horrid snarls. A whirl of flames was enough to send them running. Getting to her feet, April saw she was met with the same fortress she had been in all of those decades ago, the same one that scarred her poor mind for as long as she could remember. Though this time she felt different. She was given specific instructions to disrupt the demonic world, but she also saw it as an opportunity for vengeance, something she knew Magnus would advise against on a normal day. </p><p>In her left ear she could hear the approaching growl of another demon, and a singular thought strayed across her mind, not even accompanied with an inkling of fear.<br/><i>I’m so sick and tired of this shit.</i><br/>With one hand, on which her fingernails had taken the form of claws, she gripped the demon around the neck. With every ounce of strength she possessed, she choked the demon, covering it’s shrieks with an angered sceam of her own, then left it’s remains to vanish on the ground before her. She briefly looked down at her hand, which was now spotted with ichor. She had never felt so powerful, and she figured that to anyone at home, it would be alarming. Thinking of that, it reminded her why she stood where she stood, to fulfill a promise and return home. </p><p>Tossing flames between her hands, April neared the fortress doors. Something swirled around inside her, much like fear. Ever so briefly, images flashed before her, of the last time she set foot in Hell. The echoes of her own scream caused her to flinch. The thought of it all happening again lingered, but as she raised her hands, it seemed to fly away with the doors that she sent crashing to the floor. When the smoke cleared, she finally caught a glimpse of her adversary in the flesh, resting his head upon his hand, having not flinched once.<br/>“It’s about time you showed up.” he drawled, unfazed by the fact that April had reduced his ornately carved doors to ash.</p><p>“I was going to say the same thing.” April said airily, crossing the great hall. Taking a brief glimpse at the marble floor, she caught her reflection. Ichor had splattered onto her face, but it wasn’t nearly as striking as the now deep red glow in her eyes, soon accompanied by that dull ache in her head.<br/>“What do you want?” Lucifer asked, straightening in his seat. He eyed April with not a trace of fear or anger.<br/>“To put a stop to this.” April said, <br/>Lucifer smirked. “You know I wouldn’t do that unless you answered to me, April.”<br/>“My loyalties lie with them, they always will.” April said firmly inclining her head upwards, “And even if I did answer to you, shit would only get worse.”<br/>“Worse for them,” Lucifer said calmly, “You would be fine.”<br/>“No, I wouldn’t”<br/>Lucifer stood up and walked over to April, and held his head level with her ears.<br/>“You know this is where you’re supposed to be. Asmodeus told you so.”<br/>April did everything she could to avoid Lucifer’s gaze, and instead looked up at his throne, but that only made the screams in her head louder.<br/>“You’re wrong, both of you.”<br/>“I daresay I’m ever wrong,” Lucifer muttered, standing straight once again, “I’m not wrong when I say this: If you stayed, you wouldn’t feel any pain ever again.”<br/>April kept staring in front of her. The edge of Lucifer’s suit in the corner of her eye was enough to weaken what confidence she had.<br/>“You wouldn’t relive any of that trauma, you’ll never have to worry about the people you cared about. It’s not like they needed your worry anyway…”<br/>“What’s wrong with worrying about people? What’s wrong about caring?” April asked, now staring at the floor. Lucifer began to slowly pace around her.<br/>“Why worry about people that end up dead, anyway, regardless of immortality? You can forget about Magnus, whoever his partner is, your brother, and that man you embrace so tightly…”<br/>April looked up at Lucifer with reluctancy and perplexion. She now thought only of Five, and what harm Lucifer could have caused him, in whatever way.<br/>“How do you know about Five?” she said fearfully.<br/>“Scared now, aren’t you?” Lucifer said, smirking. “I have my ways of learning things. Such a shame, what happened to him.”<br/>“And you think there’s no point in caring.” April said, returning a weak smirk.<br/>“You know I don’t really care. Besides, that’s all I know of him. But regardless of how much I know, he’s not getting my blessing any time soon…”<br/>“Excuse me?!”</p><p>Lucifer retreated and stood in front of his throne. April stared daggers at him.<br/>“You know,” Lucifer continued that horrible smirk, “when the male goes to the female’s father and asks for her hand in marriage or whatever the mortals do-”<br/>“WHAT?!” April exploded, she looked at Lucifer in utter disbelief. Lucifer raised his eyebrows.<br/>“Repeat the seventh word.” she said shakily.<br/>Lucifer rolled his eyes impatiently. April couldn’t help but think to herself about how she had never seen Satan himself with so much sass.<br/>“I thought it would have dawned upon you decades ago, April-” Lucifer stepped closer to her.<br/>“I never thought you would do such a thing.” April said quietly. The swirling in her stomach grew stronger and stronger as Lucifer stepped even closer to her.<br/>“Where did you think you got those incredible eyes? The fangs? Those, fear-inducing powers?” he said, running a finger gently down her cheek. April felt sick to her stomach just thinking about it, along with the horrid feeling tracing down her cheek. She shook her head weakly.<br/>“I thought it was down to chance.” she said. <br/>“Chance.” Lucifer scoffed. “I thought it would be so obvious.”<br/>“The thought never crossed my mind.” April said, still trying to keep herself from falling apart. It was the last thing that needed to happen.<br/>There was an instant of silence, in which Lucifer grinned unpleasantly down at April, who still couldn’t wrap her head around it all, despite how much sense it made.<br/>“Why?” she said shakily. “What brought you to do this?”</p><p>“It’s simple, really.” Lucifer said, beginning to slowly pace once again. “I knew full well, any offspring of mine would be incredibly dangerous, incredibly powerful, everything that you possess.” he gestured to April, to which she responded with a glare.<br/>“So I thought I would give it a try, and see if you could burn everything to the ground for me.”<br/>“You were close-” April said with a smirk, but Lucifer cut her off.<br/>“Until Magnus Bane showed up, and attempted to control you. Personally, I think he could have done better, but I’m not complaining.”<br/>“Your word means nothing against my father, I hope you know tha-”<br/>“No, April.” Lucifer whirled around on his heel and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her off the ground.<br/>“I am your father whether you wish to believe it or not. Everything Asmodeus told you months ago was nothing less than the truth. You are wasted up there, everything you touch turns to ash eventually, no matter how hard you try!”<br/>Despite her anger being rippled with an uneasy sadness, April refused to take any of Lucifer’s words to heart. She smirked.<br/>“I call bullshit.”</p><p>With an angered grunt, Lucifer threw April to the floor. She collided hard with the ground, and pain pulsed through her body. She wasn’t keen on giving up just yet, for the fight had only just begun. <br/>She stumbled to her feet, bringing a mass of bright orange flames with her. Lucifer held his ground, beginning to conjure magic of his own. Just as hers did, his eyes glowed a brilliant red.<br/>April wasted no time, she collected the flames in her hands and thrusted them towards Lucifer, who was caught off guard (<i>for once in his god damn life</i> April thought), and hit the wall behind him hard. She rushed forward and pinned him to the wall, a knee digging into his stomach, and her hands wrapped tight around his neck. <br/>“Nothing you will do can kill me, April. You should know that.” he gave another nasty smile.<br/>That statement struck April, and made her wonder for a second why she even bothered wrestling her father to the ground, even though she would get nothing out of it. And then she thought deeper, and grinned.<br/>“I wouldn’t be so sure of your words.” April said, and it was only a second after she spoke, that she realised she had toed the line. <br/>Lucifer used a blast of magic to send her flying across the room, which only added to the immense pain that coursed through her body already. <br/>“You may be my daughter, April, but don’t think that doesn’t mean I’ll be any nicer to you!” Lucifer yelled. <br/>April took multiple shuddering deep breaths, and got to her feet once again, trying to keep herself as calm and collected as possible.<br/>“You are a fallen angel, a greater demon.” she said calmly.<br/>“Well spotted, only took you two centuries.” Lucifer said impatiently. April did her best to ignore the painfully obvious sparks of red on his hands.<br/>“You, as a greater demon, had a daughter with a mundane woman. Therefore I am a warlock. And because of an existing blood ratio where you lie at fault, I am too a demon.”<br/>Lucifer had no patience, it seemed. For he sent two blasts of magic furiously towards April, but she deflected them flawlessly with a whirl of her own fire. As if nothing else had happened, she continued to speak. <br/>“Because you are a greater demon, you of course possess some remnants of angelic blood, some of which more than likely was passed down to me. Therefore I am also a nephilim.” she gave Lucifer an evil grin.<br/>Lucifer seemed to be trying to stay angry, but something about the way he looked told April that he hadn’t considered this. <br/>“That can’t be possible.” he said, this time a bit quieter. A satisfactory feeling grew in April, one that told her that what she was doing was working.<br/>“Oh trust me, it is. I’ve done my studies.” April said, using the opportunity to send a blast towards Lucifer, and knock him unsteady. That was enough for her to take control. </p><p>It was a sudden but incredible feeling, like a wave rising higher and higher inside her. April noticed that all of a sudden, the flames that whirled around her and in her hands had shifted into a powerfully bright golden colour.</p><p>
  <i>Well this hasn’t happened before</i>
</p><p>~~</p><p>Five was on his fourth cup of coffee. He had barely torn his eyes from the screen in front of him. In fact, no one had. Magnus was sweating and trembling slightly while Alec kept a firm arm around him. Max, much to Five’s dismay, had decided to sit on his lap but was just as quiet as the others. Time was ticking away far too slowly for anyone’s liking.<br/>“I still don’t understand why we can’t hear anything.” Five said.<br/>“The infinite switchboard doesn’t usually watch other dimensions.” the Handler said in a bored tone. “Therefore the connection is never great.”<br/>“It’s bullshit.” Five snapped. The Handler glared at him.<br/>Magnus stepped closer to the screen, looking aghast. <br/>“That can’t be what I think it is.”<br/>Alec was quick to join him at his side. Five brought his eyes closer to the screen, unsure what was so wrong aside from April simply being in Hell. It was then that he noticed, even after spending so long with his eyes on her, making sure she wasn’t put to any harm, that the flames that gathered around her, and her eyes, glowed a powerful gold.<br/>Alec looked dumbfounded. “That’s heavenly magic. But, how? I’ve never seen that before.”<br/>Lifting Max up and holding him tight, Five stood up to get a better look on a screen that provided a closer view. April had never looked so dangerous. His stomach dropped unpleasantly.<br/>“There’s only one explanation for that.” Alec continued. Magnus collapsed into the seat nearest to him.<br/>“No- That can’t- <i>No</i>.”<br/>“This wasn’t what you were thinking last night?” Alec asked. Magnus shook his head and looked fearfully up at the screen.<br/>“I thought it was just- only a greater- no this can’t be right.”<br/>“I’m a bit lost here.” Five said shakily. Max was completely oblivious to the panic that hung in the air, and simply fiddled with the collar of Five’s blazer.</p><p>Magnus sighed unpleasantly and looked at Five.<br/>“Lucifer was once an angel that was banished after starting a rebellion in heaven, and to simplify it, if he were to have any offspring there is a good chance he passes on what angelic blood he may have left in him.”<br/>Five started to understand where this was going, much to his dismay.<br/>“If he were to have a child, that child would be not only a warlock, and most likely a demon, it would also have the chance of becoming nephilim,” Magnus gestured briefly to Alec, “and there is no other way that April could possess any kind of angelic power without that happening.” At this point, Magnus sounded completely enraged. “And if you put two and two together, you’ll find that <i>that</i> asshole is her father.” he jabbed a finger against the screen where Lucifer had just fallen to the ground. Five dropped into his seat in disbelief.<br/>“That can’t be right.”<br/>“I don’t want to believe it.” Magnus said. “And what worries me is that it looks as though she is about to kill him.”</p><p>“Shit.”</p><p>~~</p><p>“This isn’t right…” Lucifer muttered, and April saw an opportunity to strike. The flames around her grew larger and larger, and the glow they emitted became brighter and brighter to the point where Lucifer was squinting his eyes. April cast the flames forth, never feeling more alive, and they tangled themselves around Lucifer, and held him metres into the air. April looked at him with deep satisfaction. He was getting what he deserved. <br/>“What made you think this wouldn’t happen?” she said, watching as Lucifer struggled for once in his life, trying to pull himself free from the flames that grew tighter around him. The only thing breaking the golden glow was the red from his eyes, that for the first time showed pain and anguish.<br/>“I thought it was down to chance!” he yelled. April laughed maniacally.<br/>“Chance! I thought it would be so obvious!” <br/>“Don’t you dare use my own words against me!” Lucifer roared. He let out an angered scream, and tried to reach through the air towards April, but she was too fast for him. As if she were casting a whip through the air, she rapidly brought her hands to the ground, causing Lucifer to fall hard against the marble floor, just as she had earlier. The ground around him started to form massive golden cracks, which spread out far beyond the fortress. April glanced out the window at them, and made a small laugh.</p><p>Lucifer attempted to get to his feet, but was knocked to the ground by another burst of gold. Seeing him lying against the ground in pain, something that he may have never felt, continued to bring April that satisfaction she had longed to feel. She took the opportunity she had to gather as much of the golden flames around her as she could, and run directly at Lucifer and pin him to the ground.<br/>“This isn’t how the story goes, April.” He said through gritted fangs.<br/>“What a shame.” April said with a mock-pleasant tone. Flames around the both of them edged closer and closer to Lucifer, and fear continued to grow on his face.<br/>“I’m going to say this once, and once only.” April snarled. She held a fistful of flames level with her head, and watched as Lucifer winced at the sight of them.<br/>“You know it means nothing to me!” he shouted. April knew he didn’t mean it, his expression showed it only too clearly. April brought her head level with his, and made one last nasty grin.</p><p>“I. Am. The queen.”</p><p>April brought her hand down with immense force, and the flames embedded themselves into Lucifer’s chest. He let out a painful scream that pierced April’s ears, but she didn’t flinch. When the flames eventually died out, and the only ones remaining where those that surrounded them, April heaved a sigh of relief. Even more ichor splattered her face, as she saw the gaping wound she had left in Lucifer’s chest. Unfortunately for her, he was still alive, but barely. The cracks on the floor trailed up the walls, and spread further and further through the rest of Hell. All of a sudden, April felt fatigued beyond anything, and the golden flames around her started to fade back to bright orange, except for a few embers. Lucifer made a painful grin.<br/>“You may have angelic powers, my dear, but only so little.” he placed a hand on her neck.<br/>April said nothing. Something hovered in her mind, some kind of emotion that seemed to spread through her body. It felt like what seemed to be, <i>remorse</i>.<br/>“It’s catching up now, isn’t it?” Lucifer said quietly, “the guilt, the betrayal. What ever drove you to do this to your father?”<br/>April knew this was wrong, to feel such a way about someone that had never brought her any good. But this was her father, for the love of everything. He had hurt her and put her through so much throughout her life, yet here she was, looking down at him with tears brimming in her eyes. She just didn’t understand.</p><p>Lucifer’s grip tightened around her neck, something April didn’t classify as impossible, despite how close he may be to dying. None of this should have been possible at all, yet it all was, and she was living through every second of it. Up until that moment, she hadn’t thought of everyone back at home, what they would be thinking, seeing all of this. She didn’t want to think about how Magnus would react to the things he was learning. And Five, thinking of him hurt more than ever. All of this was still so new to him, the whole idea that Hell, demons, and everything in between actually existed. She knew right away that he wouldn’t think anything different of her, he only wanted her home safe, regardless of the things she was bound to by blood. Her mind then trailed to other thoughts. Ones of her and Five together and safe, away from the harm of the world she sat in. She would give anything to feel all of that again, to see Five’s face free of nerve and fear for her. She wanted to be at home again, she wanted to leave, but she had a job to finish.</p><p>Lucifer took in a shuddering breath and looked at April dead in the eyes. Despite her longing to leave for good, that remorse still hung around inside her. <br/>“Consider this a final parting gift.” Lucifer muttered, and he applied a final amount of pressure against April’s neck.<br/>Instantly, a pain beyond anything she had ever felt ran up and down her body, and she let out the loudest, pain stricken shriek as she felt her skin part, making way for a gruesome wound. The cracks around her burst, and her vision was obscured by a painfully bright glow, and everything around her began to collapse and disappear from view. She didn’t even have time to acknowledge the blood running down her body, or the way that the pain only grew worse. Lucifer’s body fell limp, and was soon engulfed in golden flames, leaving her on a small space of ground that still remained. <br/>Failing to stand, April fell backwards, using what little strength she had left to conjure a portal. Reaching desperately towards it, she finally managed to pull herself through, the pain only escalating around her head and chest as she tried to get a better view of Hell as it imploded behind her, never to be set foot in again.</p><p>~~</p><p>The portal threw April onto the floor of the infinite switchboard room at a horrid angle, and the open wound on her face collided hard with the side of a desk. She let out another painful cry, which was followed by hurried footsteps.<br/>“APRIL! HOLY SHIT, APRIL CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”<br/>Five pulled April into his arms. She wanted to say something but she couldn’t, she felt the energy drain from her, along with the blood that saturated Five’s clothed.<br/>“God, please, no.. APRIL! MAGNUS! MAGNUS WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!”<br/>Five looked down at April, tears streaming down his face. April tried everything to reach up at him, but it was no use. He clung onto her tighter and tighter, trying to stem the flow of blood on her neck.<br/>“Don’t try to move, April- Just take some deep breaths okay? You’re gonna be okay, I promise.”<br/>He pressed his forehead to hers, and April could do nothing but cry. The unimaginable pain, mixed with the fear that it was all over, and the terrified look on Five’s face. <br/>She felt herself grow colder, and her eyesight blurred. Five continued to call out for Magnus at the top of his lungs, while keeping his eyes on her.<br/>“Don’t go, April, please don’t! Stay with me! Please!”<br/>April wanted nothing more than to tell him that she was doing everything she could to hold on, but nothing worked. She looked up at Five fearfully, using what little strength she had to cling onto him. The room around her was starting to disappear, and somehow, the pain was lessening, but Five only shouted louder.</p><p>“MAGNUS!”<br/>“Five what’s ha- APRIL!”<br/>Magnus’ blurred form came into view, wearing just as much panic as Five did. She couldn’t bear to see it any longer, so she gave in and closed her eyes.<br/>“APRIL DON’T LEAVE ME!”<br/>Five let out a scream. A scream that held so much pain and lost love that it hurt for April to hear the last of.</p><p>“Please, I love you, April! Hold on for me! I love you...”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Squashy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gotta love waking up and finding that nothing went to plan.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello hello!</p><p>This chapter is kinda chunky. It could have been worse but good thing I thought otherwise lol.<br/>Not sure what else to say here.</p><p>*disappears*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>April couldn’t find the energy to open her eyes. She didn’t want to so much as think about moving, due to the horrid ache she already felt across her body. She felt herself lying on something much more comfortable than the floor she had passed out on, so she assumed she was in bed. She then became aware of the voices crossing the room, something that usually never irritated her the way it was then.<br/>“-won’t risk working with it too much, just because some traces of magic may still be there. So I reckon we’ll have Five help her out.”<br/>“It’s not like he’ll say no. but d’you think he can come in now? He hasn’t moved since we got here.”<br/>“Yeah. Poor guy, I don’t think he’s slept.”<br/>There was the only-too familiar sound of a door opening. The slight creak told April she was at home, in <i>her</i> bed.<br/>“By the angel, Five. You haven’t even changed your clothes? It’s been nearly two days-”<br/>“Is she alive, Alec? Can I see her?”<br/>“She’s fine. Bu- Hey!”<br/>Five must have pushed his way past Alec, and hurried to her bedside.<br/>“Oh, god-”</p><p>“I’ve done what I can,” came Magnus’ voice, “I tried to speed up the scarring but I’ve had to be incredibly careful, there’s probably still traces of demonic magic, so, if you know what I mean-”<br/>“Yeah, I get it. Would that do anything to her behaviour?”<br/>“None. It’s just not going to heal very well. And the pain- I- I just can’t believe he did that-” Magnus suddenly sounded weaker, and upset.</p><p>April felt Five’s hand close tight around hers, and then it struck her. She couldn’t keep her eyes closed, she wanted to see them, to tell them that she was okay. It was then that she decided to use that urge to pry her eyes open, and see Five’s tired, teary eyes looking down on her. At the sight of her, Five broke into a smile, tears now running down his cheeks.<br/>April couldn’t find anything to say, she smiled as best as she could back at him, now shedding tears of her own. <br/>Five rested his forehead softly against hers and just smiled, the widest she had ever seen him smile. <br/>“Thank you for coming back.” he said weakly.<br/>“I made a promise.” April muttered, “I don’t break promises.” she smiled and kissed Five’s cheek.<br/>With gentle but firm hands, Five helped April sit up. Although it didn’t appear to be a good idea, as April winced horribly at the pain in her stomach. A wave of nausea spread over her at her movement, but quickly subsided.<br/>“Shit! Sorry-”<br/>“It’s fine, seriously.” April said, leaning back against the numerous pillows behind her and sighing. Magnus and Alec hurried to the bedside as Five sat down next to her, holding her as closely and gently as he could. It was then that April noticed that he still wore the clothes from her return, the fronts of them now stained with massive blotches of dried blood. And his face was also splattered with flecks of blood, too.</p><p>Magnus wore the same tearful smile, and brought a hand to April’s face.<br/>“How d’you feel?”<br/>“I’m sore.” April said quietly. But I’m okay.”<br/>Magnus’ face fell. “I’m sorry this had to happen. I didn’t-”<br/>“Shut up. Just shut up.” April said. “I don’t care. I’m still here, and I did what you asked. It’s fine.”<br/>“Yeah, about that-”<br/>Everyone exchanged solemn looks. April was a tad bit confused.<br/>“What?”<br/>“We asked for a distraction, April.” Alec said, “But-”<br/>“You obliterated all of Hell.” Magnus said. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”<br/>April felt her stomach drop and Five held her tighter. Magnus was right, she wasn’t supposed to go that far<br/>“I- I didn’t mean to go that far-”<br/>“None of us were expecting it, and I only understood when it was too late. Not too long after we found out that-”<br/>Magnus fell silent. April knew exactly what he was refusing to say, and she didn’t blame him. It wasn’t something she wanted to talk about either. She looked to Five, who still had a few tears shining in his eyes. He rested his head gently on hers, and she couldn’t help but completely melt inside at that feeling. It felt like it had been forever since they held each other like this, and she swore to herself she would never leave it again.<br/>“We understand the meaning behind your actions, in terms of your emotions and such, it’s still a lot for us all to take in.” Magnus continued. <br/>“Hasn’t it been something that’s been meaning to happen for a while? Didn’t I just do you guys a favour?”<br/>“You weren’t <i>supposed</i> to.” Alec said. “The risk was too great, we could have lost you, in fact, we did for a little while.”<br/>April could feel Five’s grip steadily grow tighter. He obviously didn’t want to remember it.</p><p>“Now, I hate to keep being negative but, your injury.” Magnus said. He drew back the sheet to reveal the rest of her body, wearing nothing but a bra and underwear. She noticed not only that, but also the damage she had sustained. A wound stretched from her left cheek, and crossed her chest and stomach, ending in the middle of the right thigh. She placed a hand over her mouth at the sight of it, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. She heard Five mutter a “holy shit” under his breath.<br/>“I know, hun, it’s not good.” Magnus said, “But I’ve done everything I can to try and heal it.”<br/>April shook her head in disbelief. <i>This can’t have happened</i>.<br/>“It’s going to hurt, but there isn’t a lot we can do. You’re just gonna have to be careful for the weeks to come. Maybe months.”<br/>“This can’t be real.” April sobbed, and she leaned her head on Five’s shoulder. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.<br/>“It’ll be okay. I’ll be here to help you, I’m not gonna leave your side and I mean it.”<br/>April looked down at her thigh where the wound ended. Magnus had done quite a good job at fixing it up, as small parts had started to scar over already. Making the slightest movements were now unbearably painful, and it only led her to hope and pray that it didn’t last long.</p><p>“We’ll give you two some time alone,” Magnus said, standing up, “April, stay in bed, I’ll be checking in every so often.” he paused, and took her hand once again. “We will have to talk about things later, but for now I want you to rest, more than anything. Five will take care of you. And no guilt, please.” he gave her one final smile before crossing the room to the door.<br/>“You were so brave, my girl. Thank you for coming back.”</p><p>When the door closed, April heaved a sigh, another instant regret.<br/>“Is there anything you need, babe?” Five asked.<br/>“For you to get changed.” April said without missing a beat. The two of them giggled.<br/>“Sorry about that,” Five said, glancing down at his clothes. For the first time, April noticed just how much blood there was, and it was alarming. “I didn’t want to go anywhere in case something happened.”<br/>“How long has it been?”<br/>“Two days, I think.”<br/>“You mean to say that you spent two days, sitting outside my bedroom?” April said, trying to sit up some more, and wincing.<br/>“Hey, no trying to move just yet. But yes, I did. Something wrong with that?”<br/>April shook her head. “No. I just didn’t think-”<br/>“Your pulse disappeared seconds after you passed out in my arms and I screamed until I lost my voice, April. I waited and I waited with little sleep, just to know that you were okay. Your dad wasn’t sure you’d make it until about half an hour ago.” Five looked at her worriedly.<br/>“I’m sorry- I just thought you wouldn’t want to sit around covered in my blood, that’s all.” April said quietly. She made a small tug at Five’s shirt, which was stiff from the dried blood. <br/>“It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world,” Five admitted, “but I just- I didn’t want to leave, in case something did happen.”<br/>April really thought that Five would have had more sense, and at least considered changing into a cleaner set of clothes. But then it dawned on her that the situation really was terrifying, and if Five had been in her place, she reckoned she wouldn’t have left the hallway either.</p><p>“I’m sorry for scaring you, babe. I shouldn’t have gone so far-”<br/>Five lay a hand on her unscarred cheek, placing his thumb over her lips. “Hey, none of that, alright? It was scary, but I don’t want you apologising for it. Like your dad said, none of us, not even you were expecting it. There is no need for you to feel any guilt. It was just an accident.”<br/>“One that could have killed me.” April said, despite Five’s thumb still being in the way of her speaking clearly. <br/>“But you’re not dead, you’re here. You’re here, and I’m gonna hold onto you, and I’m never letting go. You’re safe now.” Five gently kissed April’s cheek, then stood up. “But I will be letting go, just to get out of these clothes.”<br/>“Please. I’ve seen enough of my own blood for now.” <br/>Five grinned, then left the room. April took a moment to look at the wound across her body. She was more thankful than ever that Magnus could heal it to a degree, but the sheer size of it was what continued to shock her, along with the fact that she had survived. It was difficult for her to comprehend how Lucifer could have done such a thing, despite being inches from death. The thought of Lucifer scared her less than she had anticipated, probably due to the fact that he had been killed, along with everything else that had ever brought forth her trauma. It was relieving to have eradicated it all, but the risk she had unknowingly taken was what kept that tiny ember or guilt alight inside her. Fed up with looking at the wound, and beginning to shiver from the early winter cold, April snapped her fingers, and an oversized t-shirt and pyjama pants printed with jellyfish of different colours appeared on her body. Feeling those clothes around her made her feel more comfortable than ever, and it reassured her that there was no need for her to go anywhere that required wearing nicer clothes. Because nothing was better than the comfort of winter pyjamas.</p><p>Five reentered the room wearing black pyjama pants and a grey sweater that was a tad too big for him. It was one of the very few times that he had worn anything other than the vaguely uniform-like attire he wore every day. He had even survived the majority of autumn’s cold wearing shorts, until April pointed out that she had in fact bought him pants, along with the three shopping bags of clothes she returned home with one day. He insisted that he was fine, and wore the shorts willingly, but April knew full well that he just hadn’t seen them. </p><p>“I believe you requested this before you left.” Five said, placing a glass of chocolate milk on the bedside table. April beamed up at him.<br/>“Thank god,” she said, reaching painfully for the glass, but succeeding, it’s been two days too long since I had this.”<br/>“Isn’t that still a controversial thing to say?” Five asked jokingly, sitting down on the bed and bringing his arms around her.<br/>April shrugged, and placed the glass on the table. “Not sure. If anything, I’d be the only demon in his good books. I am his granddaughter, afterall.” she said that with more ease than expected.<br/>Five let out what seemed to be a laugh mixed with some surprise. “I never thought about it like that.”<br/>April grinned back at him, and rested her head back on his shoulder. Simply looking up at him was enough to distract her from the aches that still ran through her. Five’s face fell a little.<br/>“How do you feel about it all? Y’know-”<br/>“My father?”<br/>Five seemed confused at the way April spoke so freely about something so traumatizing.<br/>“It wasn’t what I expected. Like I said to him, I thought it was down to chance, the way I turned out. But I guess, for now, I’m not too worried only because he’s dead, and he will be forever.”<br/>“I’m just worried about you later on, with flashbacks and things like that. We both know how bad it can be.” Five brought his head closer to hers, his lips brushing her cheek. “I just want you to be safe.”<br/>“It’s bound to happen, Five.” April muttered, “and when it does, you’ll be there to help me, right?”<br/>“I’m never leaving your side again. I promise.” Five pressed a kiss to her cheek.<br/>April felt that familiar joy once again. The one that she felt whenever Five held her close, and she knew that she was safe from all harm. The pain in her body seemed to melt away when she brought her arms tight around Five, and relaxed into his embrace. The sweater he wore was one of her favourite ones. It’s warmth and softness unmatched by any of the other sweaters he owned. </p><p>“Y’know, I think you look pretty cool with that scar, babe.” Five said with a small grin.<br/>“Makes me feel like a badass.” April said, “Not just anyone can walk around saying they’ve obliterated Hell. And <i>survived</i>.”<br/>Five grinned even wider. “See, I knew that this wouldn’t make you feel too bad. It’s just the whole, physical and emotional pain that’s not so great.”<br/>April sighed and gave a small wince. “I know there’s going to be harder days than this, but I’m not going to be alone, so I’m not worrying.”<br/>“Like I said, I’m not leaving your side. I’m staying right here.” Five kissed her cheek once again.</p><p>The majority of the remaining day was spent in near silence. April and Five lay quietly in bed, enjoying the feeling of their bodies against each others’, and relaxing for the first time in hours that lasted only too long. Every so often, Five would break the silence and ask if April was alright, and every time she would respond with the same thing.<br/>“It hurts, but I’m okay.”<br/>Five always held a small expression of concern when she said that, but it faded away when April snuggled closer to him, slowly drifting in and out of sleep. Magnus entered in the late afternoon, with a bag full of snacks, all of which came from an extensive list that April had written three decades ago. He then checked over April’s wounds and had a brief conversation with Five, which April found herself too sleepy to listen to. The rest of the evening was rather uneventful, except for the odd lazy complaint about pain and the discovery of dried blood in Five’s hair.</p><p>“You really do suck at cleaning yourself, Five.” April said, running her fingers through Five’s hair.<br/>“I wanted to be quick. It’s just a small bit, it’ll be fine.” Five tried to brush away April’s hand with a smirk, but failed.<br/>“I found another spot. Did you even wash your hair?”<br/>“I did, trust me!”<br/>“I beg to differ.”</p><p>~~</p><p>The two weeks that followed were nothing more or less than lazy. April quickly grew tired of sitting around in bed only two days after returning, and begged Magnus over and over to let her get up and walk. Magnus was skeptical about the idea, and so was Five, but he was open to it, which April was happy about.<br/>“I’m just worried about the pain, April.”<br/>“To Hell with that!” April exclaimed. Magnus threw her a strange look, which then made her aware of what she had just said. <br/>“Ah, right. You know what I mean, Dad! I just want to leave this room, maybe get some fresh air on the balcony or something! What’s the worst state I could be in?”<br/>“A limp.” Magnus said with an air of defeat.<br/>“A limp. I single-handedly destroyed the underworld, I think I can handle a limp.” April crossed her arms and looked up at Magnus, who rolled his eyes.<br/>“Alright, whatever. You can get out of bed, just be careful.”<br/>April punched the air in triumph. <br/>“I’ve got clients to deal with, so Five’s keeping an extra eye on you.”<br/>“He does that anyway.” <br/>“Good. Magnus said, leaving the room. “It’s like having a second Max when you’re on your feet!”<br/>April growled unpleasantly, but it was soon replaced with a smile.</p><p>After a shaky and mainly pain-free walk into the lounge, Five refused point blank to take his eyes off April. Every so often, she would leave the couch on which she lay to limp around aimlessly, or raid the fridge once again, but that was as active as she was. In the days that followed, she had learned to ignore the pain that was steadily subsiding. On more occasions than one, April came to the end of the day with no energy whatsoever, and resorted to her older ways of falling asleep with Five on the couch, who admitted to her that he stayed awake later into the night, just to make sure that she was sleeping comfortably.As much as it warmed her heart, April couldn’t help but worry for him.<br/>“I don’t want you losing any more sleep over me, Five.”<br/>“I ca-”<br/>“I know you can’t help it. But you’re looking more and more tired by the day, you need to rest, too.”<br/>“And what if something happens?”<br/>“You would know. Now go to sleep before I knock you out.”<br/>“You wouldn’t dare.”</p><p>As for meals, April and Five were even lazier. They ordered a different kind of takeout food almost every day, unless Magnus did it for them. This provided April with the perfect opportunity to teach Five more thoroughly on how a smartphone worked. Even in the months that had passed since his first encounter with modern technology, he hadn’t grown any less confused.<br/>“Five, it’s been months and you haven’t so much as taken notes on how to order a pizza.” April rolled her eyes and handed him the phone. “You’re lucky I don’t like making calls and just use the website.”<br/>“It’s foreign to me either way.” Five said, gazing down at the screen. “So you just touch it, and it works?”<br/>“You are unbelievable, honestly.” April said, sighing. “You see the button that says ‘order here’? Hit that.”<br/>Five gingerly poked the screen. To both his and April’s amazement, it worked.<br/>“Woah.”<br/>“You look like you’re seeing this for the first time again.” April said, resting her head on his shoulder.<br/>“Cut me some slack, I’ve never really paid attention until now. What d’you want?”<br/>“Whatever you want.”<br/>“Seriously? I was going to have whatever you wanted.”<br/>“Just order a ham and cheese pizza. My appetite isn’t huge anyway.”</p><p>Five spent far too long trying to order a single pizza, partially because he was constantly finding new aspects of April’s phone to question.<br/>“It has a <i>flashlight</i>?”<br/>“Five! That has nothing to do with ordering food!”<br/>“Just tell me how they do that. How do they put a light source in this slab of glass?”<br/>“You are a superpowered man dating the princess of Hell, I don’t think the flashlight of a phone should be such a wild concept to you.”<br/>“But it is!”<br/>“Just order the pizza- oh for pete’s sake give it here.” <br/>April snatched her phone back and finished ordering pizza, while Five laughed to himself.<br/>“I’m sorry that I’m just curious!”<br/>“You had one task, and you did everything but.” April said, massaging her temples. “<i>One task</i>.”</p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, Five grew more able with the use of modern technology, and almost looked forward to that time of evening where food needed to be ordered. That was just how fascinated he was with it all. April found it funny watching him concentrate on ordering food, and eventually he had gotten the hang of it completely. It had even gotten to the point where time in the day was being filled with just showing Five the wonders of the internet, sometimes to the point where Five would scroll and scroll and April would end up falling asleep.<br/>Sleep was usually something that came so easily, but there was the odd night where April’s mind would flash through images of that night in Hell. Everything she swore to herself she would forget kept finding a way to creep back in. She had no reason to be so scared at the sight of Lucifer’s face, even when it was plastered with pure fear. Everything was gone, yet for seconds at a time she felt as though it had all come back. April did everything she could to assure herself that it wouldn’t get any worse than this, but there was always a small inkling of doubt within her, and it grew miraculously just under a month into her recovery. </p><p>It was no surprise to her, that the back of her head filled with Five’s muffled shouts. But she had no idea how painful it would be to see his terrified face once again.</p><p>
  <i>”APRIL! HOLD ON APRIL, PLEASE!”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“DON’T LEAVE ME! DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE!”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“MAGNUS DO SOMETHING!”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“APRIL PLEASE STAY WITH ME!”</i>
</p><p>Then came the one moment she would have given anything to be free of. And this time she could see it. The tears streaming down Five’s face, the way he clenched his eyes shut and screamed at the top of his lungs. She could even feel his fingers gripping tighter as he continued to cry out. The sound echoed horribly through April, it was only a matter of seconds before she was wide awake, screaming with him into the darkness of her bedroom.<br/>Hands over her ears, she screamed in an attempt to drown out Five’s that still rung in her head. She had sat up so quickly that the scar across her stomach started to sting unavoidably. She continued to scream. She didn’t want to hear Five sounding so torn apart, or to see him crying as she wasted away in his arms. <br/>Next to her, Five had jolted awake, and was making panicked attempts to calm her down. <br/>“APRIL! April, you’re okay! You’re safe! C’mon, you don’t need to scream!”<br/>Five brought a firm arm around her and covered her mouth with his other hand, he obviously couldn’t handle her screams any longer. April finally brought her hands away from her ears, and miraculously, her head had fallen quiet, except for the small shushing sound Five made. There was something about the way that his hands and breath shook ever so slightly that worried her. It seemed to her that he was <i>scared</i>.</p><p>Five took his hand away from her mouth, and April tried her best to take deep breaths.<br/>“That’s it. You’re safe, okay? Just take some deep breaths, babe.” Five rested his head gently against hers. He brought one of the numerous blankets on the bed around her, and gently rubbed her back. Even after trying as hard as she could, the lingering thought that Five was scared seemed to make April only feel even more terrible, and she started to cry. There was nothing she could do about it, as she closed her eyes she could only see Five looking down at her, with that broken look in his eyes, watching as his whole world fell apart before him once again. She couldn’t bear to watch it, so with her eyes stinging and wide, she collapsed back into Five’s embrace, shaking fearfully. For a brief second, April came to wonder whether Five was also shaking from panic, or the cold air. Afterall, he wore nothing but sweatpants.</p><p>Before them, the door burst open and Magnus hurried inside, sharing the same panicked expression as Five.<br/>“What happened to her?”<br/>“I-I don’t know.” Five stammered, “she j-just woke up and screamed. It must have been a flashback or something.” <br/>April gripped onto Five tighter than ever, just so she knew that he was there next to her. She didn’t want to form any kind of words, feeling as though if she spoke about it, she would see it all again. As she placed her head in the crook of Five’s neck, Magnus took hold of one of her arms.<br/>“Hey, Firefly, you’re safe here, alright? You’re safe, nothing is going to hurt you.”<br/>April looked back at Magnus with the same fearful expression. She knew it perfectly well, she knew there was nothing that was going to hurt her, but something inside her said otherwise. Magnus shifted closer to her and placed a hand softly on her face. April could see how much remorse lay within him, and it only made her feel worse.<br/>“I won’t make her explain anything. She just needs to calm down. I can’t stand seeing her like this-”<br/>“There isn’t anything you can do?” Five said fearfully, “there isn’t anything that can alter her memories, nothing?”<br/>Magnus shook his head. “There is, but the risk is far too great. Too many people are facing the consequences from removing the memories of a young girl I know. I don’t want to risk messing something up in April’s head, she’s delicate enough as it is.” Magnus rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek.<br/>“I can’t bear to see her in pain like this.” Five said, looking down at April, “I’m so scared for her, what if this happens again?”<br/>“It’s bound to happen again, Five.” Magnus said hopelessly. “And if it does, the very best we can do is comfort her. It’s far better for her.”<br/>April gave Magnus the weakest of weak smiles. The odd tear still dripped from her eyes, but since hearing the voices of two people she loved more than anything good that the world could offer, she felt safer than ever.<br/>“I trust that you can look after her. It’s not ideal that I leave, but Max has been throwing tantrums downstairs.” Magnus got to his feet, and took a final look towards April.<br/>“You’re alright, Firefly. I know it’s scary, but you’re safe. Remember that, darling.”</p><p>Five brought April back into a lying position, while holding her as closely and gently as he could. For a few moments, neither of them really spoke except for when Five occasionally kissed her cheek, and whispered to April, asking if she was okay. She responded with a nod, then buried her head back into the crook of his neck. It stayed that way for a small while, until April mumbled without much thought.<br/>“I’m sorry I scared you.”<br/>Five shifted closer to her. The warmth of his bare stomach against hers seemed to calm her in a way that was unexplainable to her.<br/>“It’s okay, babe.” Five murmured, “It was just a bit of a shock, that’s all.”<br/>“I never want to hear you scream like that again. Not over me, or anyone.”<br/>“Is that what you saw?” Five’s voice seemed to shake, not simply because he was trying to speak quietly. April reduced to a whisper. <br/>“Yes.”<br/>Five pulled her even closer to him, something April didn’t think was even possible. She swore she felt a tear escape his eye and drip onto her face.<br/>“Five- you don’t need to cry-”<br/>“I don’t want you seeing those things, April.” Five sobbed, “You shouldn’t-”<br/>“There’s nothing we can do.” April said weakly. “You know it only happens because you love me that much-”<br/>“I thought I’d lost everything. Nothing else compares to the pain of holding someone I’ve lost. Nothing, April.”<br/>“I said it, I didn’t want to do that to you-”<br/>“Just stop.” Five said more firmly. “None of it was your fault. You’re here, and you’re safe now. You’re not leaving me again, okay?” Five kissed April’s cheek, and held his face close to hers. April brought a hand and placed it softly on Five’s cheek.<br/>“I wouldn’t leave you even if the rest of the world depended on it.” <br/>She pressed her lips to his, and the cold of the room seemed to melt away. The last of Five’s tears slipped away, and the two of them smiled softly, knowing full well that there was nothing that could come to their harm, and the time they had now was all theirs. Their time to heal.</p><p>~~</p><p>If April hadn’t gone to Hell, their holiday leave from work would have started only a few days ago, meaning christmas was just over two weeks away. As he did every single year, Magnus strolled into April’s apartment and gave a great wave of his right hand, which sent masses of fairy lights and tinsel aroud the room, organised in a pattern that changed with every passing year. At the sight of this, Five gave the widest smile ever. Afterall, it had been half a century since he had ever celebrated christmas. Though his eyes may have lit up at the sight of christmas decorations, their undersides continued to grow darker, despite conversations he and April had already had.<br/>“It’s just since that night- I’ve been more wary.” Five said. He blinked from the kitchen where they stood, into the lounge, where Max was about to knock over an ornate vase.<br/>“And I’m thankful for that! I really am!” April exclaimed. “But for once in your life, you have weeks without a single assignment from work, and if you were a bit smarter you would use these weeks to catch up on sleep.”<br/>“I’m trying to, seriously. But I just keep thinking about you, and worrying that something else might happen again!” Five sounded almost irritated. He blinked back into the kitchen, and Max followed him, except he was crawling along the ceiling.<br/>Five brought his arms around April and looked at her solemnly. “I’m sorry. We know I really can’t help it-”<br/>“You don’t need to apologise. I know full well that there is a lot going on in your head. I just want to know you’re getting the rest you need.”<br/>“Like I said, I’m trying my best. I just need to know you’re okay, and safe.”</p><p>Ever since that nightmare, Five had kept a closer eye on April than ever. He was wanting to keep her as close to him as possible, out of worry that something else could happen to her. April was thankful for it, for whenever Five even had so much as a thread of his clothing brushing against her, she felt safer, and more loved by someone than she had ever felt. She was still slightly grasping the way being in a relationship worked, and frankly, so was Five. But the both of them had never been happier, being able to hold each other close, and feel protected from what harm the rest of the world had inflicted upon them. April had become constantly wary of Five, and how every so often he would flip open one of his numerous notebooks, analysing one of the many probability maps he had scrawled down. He happened to do just that, only seconds after discussing giving himself a rest.<br/>“You can never not worry about things can you?” April asked, collapsing onto the couch next to him. She cast a wary eye to Max, who was still rolling around on the ceiling.<br/>“I just don’t know what to do with myself.” Five said, sighing. “All this time to do nothing-”<br/>“You feel like you need something to work towards.” April said. She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked up at him. <br/>“Exactly. Adjusting is difficult.”<br/>“I understand, babe.” April took the notebook from his hand and tossed into the air, where a whirl of orange magic sent it over to the pile of notebooks in the corner of the room. “But you’re doing really well, getting back into it all. Even despite all the stuff that’s happened. I’m so proud of you.” She kissed Five’s cheek softly.<br/>Five responded by bringing his arms gently around her, and his lips merely brushed her cheek when they were disrupted by a swift knock at the door, followed by the sound of something being placed on the ground. Leaving April perplexed on the couch, Five blinked to the door and opened it. There was nothing there except for two boxes at the doorstep. April swore she saw Five grin widely as he picked them up. </p><p>“Have you been ordering stuff, with <i>my</i> credit card, on <i>my</i> phone, without <i>my</i> knowledge?” April said, bringing Max off the ceiling, and sitting back down on the couch. Five closed the front door and rejoined April on the couch, where he placed the boxes in between them. He took the smallest of the boxes and handed it to Max who eyed it curiously. He then took the larger box and gave it to April.<br/>“I may have bought you an early christmas gift.” Five said quietly. “Just because you’ve given me so much,” he gestured to the new clothes he wore, “and it’s been a bit of a rough time for you.”<br/>April wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Joy and eagerness swirled around inside her unlike any other moment in which she had received a gift. She placed Max on the floor, where he continued to hack away at his box, and she looked at her own. Five shuffled closer to her, smiling. April had never seen him filled with so much excitement. She snapped her fingers, and the tape around the box split apart. She reached inside, and her hands closed around a soft material, which was revealed to be a jellyfish plush, in a calming shade of lavender. Her face broke into the widest smile possible, and she pulled Five into a tight hug. <br/>“I love you so much, Five.”<br/>“I love you even more.” Five muttered, softly kissing her cheek. April turned her head to see Max sitting on the floor, cuddling a soft blue triceratops plush, that was almost as big as him. The box in which it once resided was now in shreds all over the floor. April turned back to Five.<br/>“You’re so sneaky, you know that?”<br/>Five merely responded with a grin.<br/>“How did you even do this without me finding out?”<br/>“Might I remind you,” Five said, brushing a stray hair from April’s eyes, “that you tend to sleep a lot.”<br/>“Ah, right.” April said with a small grin. She picked up the jellyfish plush and jokingly placed it on Max’s head. Caught completely oblivious, Max responded by falling over and giggling.<br/>“Squashy!” He called out.<br/>“What?” April and Five said in unison. They exchanged confused looks, rippled with smiles.<br/>“It’s squashy!” Max said, getting to his feet and dragging the jellyfish behind him by one of its tentacles. He waddled over to the couch and lifted the jellyfish onto April’s lap.<br/>“Squashy.” he said once again.<br/>“Alright then,” April said with a laugh. She lay back, resting her head on Five’s lap, and placed the jellyfish on her stomach. “Squashy it is then.”<br/>“Don’t tell me that’s what you’re <i>naming</i> it.” Five said, giving the jellyfish a poke.<br/>“Max has spoken, Five. It’s name is Squashy.”<br/>Five let out a sigh mixed with a laugh. “You two are so weird.”<br/>“You know you love it.”<br/>~~<br/>When April wasn’t preoccupied with babysitting, or emerging from the apartment to walk along the snow-dusted streets, she was curled up with Five either on the couch or in bed, continuing to catch up on well-earned rest. She had never been so lazy in her life, and it astounded her how she wasn’t even bored yet. This laziness had caused both her and Five to lose all concept of day and night. Sometimes they would wake around three in the morning, and fall back asleep in the late afternoon. It was during this time that they both realised how much of this rest they had missed out on, after being out of place for so long (decades, even). Every so often, when they simply lay awake in each other’s embrace, when nothing else could provide any entertainment, they would spark up some of the same-old strange conversations that they used to have months ago, before worry was piled upon them.</p><p>One evening, it snowed the most it had all winter. April set a single orange flame upon the coffee table, and in it’s glow she assessed Five’s attempt at shaving the very little facial hair he had grown.<br/>“You really do suck at this.” April said quietly. She ran a finger across Five’s jawline. “You’ve missed a spot here, and here. And you cut yourself there-”<br/>“Cut me some slack, I’ve never done this properly before.” Five said with a smirk. “Do I get anything for effort?”<br/>“I guess so.” April gently pushed Five’s face towards her, and kissed him softly on the lips.<br/>Five gave her a warm smile. “Thank you babe.”<br/>April snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “What amazes me is how you managed to even grow facial hair. You’re not even ageing.”<br/>“I wouldn’t know how.” Five said, sighing. “I guess it comes with the whole ‘being stuck as an adolescent’ thing.”<br/>“How did you manage in the apocalypse?”<br/>“Shard of glass. And patience.”<br/>April raised her eyebrows. “No-”<br/>“Yes. But it’s fine.”<br/>April gave Five one last look of disapproval before relaxing back into his embrace. “How do you feel? Still being stuck as a child. I’m surprised I haven’t asked this sooner.”<br/>Five sighed as his thumb trailed gently up and down her side. “Back then, I hated it. I hated that I’d taken away my opportunity to properly grow up. I hate being stuck in looking like the version of myself with far too much confidence. I guess it’s only fair.”<br/>“And how about now?”<br/>Five sighed again. ‘It’s a bit more tolerable. Now that I have someone worth sticking around for.” he gave a half smile. April returned a questionable look.<br/>“So you’re saying that you wouldn’t care if you were stuck like this forever? Even if you were given the opportunity to have the body you’re supposed to have-”<br/>“It would be a relief, but there would always be something off about it.” he stared off at the lone flame on the table.<br/>“Because I’d still look like a child.” April said bluntly. “That’s why it would feel off.”<br/>“Exactly.” Five said. <br/>“But think outside of this relationship for just a second. If you were given that opportunity, would you take it?”</p><p>Five fell silent for a moment, turning the question over in his head. He looked back at April.<br/>“I can’t.” Five said. “I just can’t. I know there’s more to this than just us, but something keeps pulling me back in. What’s the point in going into a body that’ll ache every day anyway?”<br/>“So you can grow.” April said with  a small break in her voice. “The way you’re supposed to.”<br/>“Would it even happen?” Five asked, “would anything in this world give me that freedom?”<br/>“Yes, but we’ve been over it. They wouldn’t. They wouldn’t because you won’t side with them, even if it assured the safety of everyone and everything you cared about.”<br/>Silence fell. April had brought up a point that Five couldn’t seem to respond to. She only wanted him to be comfortable, and free of a body he clearly disliked. But what touched her heart without a shadow of a doubt, was that he was willing to stay that way if it meant they could be together. </p><p>Five didn’t touch the topic of his appearance any further. Instead he took his turn to ask a difficult question. <br/>“Babe, what would you do after I die?”<br/>“I- Why do you ask?” April wasn’t too sure how to feel.<br/>“It just crossed my mind, that’s all. Because you’re immortal and all-”<br/>“I don’t usually like to think about it.” April said quietly, “but it’s not to say you remain mortal.”<br/>“What do you mean?” Five gave her a perplexed look.<br/>“I know a branch of magic. Well- kind of. It grants immortality.”<br/>“I see where you’re going with this.” Five gave a small grin.<br/>“I’m not saying I want that. But if you were really willing, so willing that you would give up any opportunity to get your real body back, you wouldn’t have to worry about leaving me. But I can’t stress enough how big of a risk it is.”</p><p>April looked up at Five with worry. She hadn’t yet explained to him that the risk lay in her own magical abilities. Granting immortality was still something Magnus had been experimenting with, and she happened to witness it decades ago, when he attempted it on his first test subject, Chairman Meow.<br/>“I don’t really know what to think.” Five said, sighing once again. “I love the idea of not leaving you, and being able to stay here forever. I still want to have my real body, but not as much as I once did.”<br/>“I don’t want you to make a decision based on us, Five.” April said firmly. She stood up and crossed the room, where Chairman Meow was clawing the armchair. “The only way you could ever come close to your normal body is a glamour. I’ve told you about those?”<br/>“That whole disguise thing?”<br/>“Exactly. That’s your only option, and it’s temporary.” April lifted Chairman Meow into her arms. “I don’t want to trap you for the sake of me. You have other things to consider. Your family, the apocalypse-”<br/>“And think of how many apocalypses I could stop in my lifetime.” Five said, sitting up straighter. “As for my family-” he paused and looked to his feet.<br/>April rejoined him on the couch, Chairman Meow now sitting in her lap. “That’s what I thought.” she said quietly.<br/>“I don’t want to witness losing them again.” Five said, not making eye contact. “But I can’t avoid it, no matter how hard I tried.”<br/>“That’s the thing about it.” April said, bringing an arm around him. “I don’t want to make it seem all bad, but immortality has its limits. It only ever stops you from dying of age or illness. You can still die through physical injury, take me for example.”<br/>Five seemed to make a small wince at the thought of it.<br/>“Some warlocks end up hating it.” April explained, “They stop looking forward to the future and eventually it drives them insane. Not only that, but any mortal they know would eventually die. I hate to say it, but that’s how it is.”<br/>“I couldn’t see myself hating the future.” Five murmured. “And I can’t avoid losing my family, even though I could help it. It always happens at some point.”<br/>April wasn’t sure what to say, she simply rested her head against his shoulder once again. <br/>“And I don’t want to think about losing you again.” Five sounded even more shaky. “Considering how much it hurt the first time, I would give anything to avoid it happening again.”<br/>“Me too.” April brought her arm tighter around Five. “So if you really wanted it, despite all that you would lose-”<br/>“Could you do it?”<br/>April sat up and looked at Five with concern.<br/>“Are you really sure about this?”<br/>Five nodded.<br/>“There’s no turning back. You know that?”<br/>“I’m well aware.”<br/>“But if you changed your mind-”<br/>“I don’t think I would.”</p><p>April was still so unsure about it. She didn’t want to do something that the both of them would regret in the end. But Five looked at her with so much certainty.<br/>“April,” Five took both her hands in his and held them tightly. “I love you more than I could ever put into words. And if I were given the chance to spend the rest of my life with you, I would take it in a heartbeat.”<br/>April gave a weak smile. “However much you love me, I love you more, and I want you to be happy.I just don’t want you to regret this, babe.”<br/>“I can’t see myself doing that. I really can’t. I’m willing to take those risks.”<br/>“But your adult body, Five. There’s nothing that can be done by anyone, not even the Commission if they wanted to, that can give it to you except a glamour. I don’t want to take away that chance from you-”<br/>“That body may be the one I should be in, but at the end of the day, it’s older and starting to waste away. Being in the body of a child gives me better movement.”<br/>“Yes but that’s not <i>you</i>, Five. Do you really want to be stuck looking this way for centuries to come? Do you really want that?”<br/>“It’s better than having aching joints. And for me it wouldn’t feel right around you, in truth.”<br/>April chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, turning it all over in her head. Five had a strong point, and she admitted to herself that it wouldn’t feel right for her, either. So maybe it was better for him after all. She was willing to do it, but only if Five really wanted it. </p><p>“I”m going to ask one more time. Do you want to lose all chances to lead a normal life, and spend centuries looking the way you did when you ran away nearly sixty years ago?”<br/>“I’m willing to give it a try.”<br/>Five must have noticed the apprehensive look lingering on April’s face, because he spoke again.<br/>“I can’t avoid losing my family. That’s something that will always happen. And as for my body, there’s the glamour. I know you’re still worried about that.”<br/>April gave a small sigh. “I just want you to be happy, that’s all it is.”<br/>“No matter what we do, there’ll always be these ups and downs. I understand if you don’t want to do it, but I just figured that given the opportunity, wouldn’t you want to spend the hundreds of years to come with someone that’ll love you no matter what?”<br/>April loved the thought of it. To spend however many decades she was yet to live with Five, without having to think of the day it would all come to an end. It seemed to her that Five really was willing to do this, despite what he would be letting go of, so she figured that she could give it a shot.<br/>“Stand up and hold out your hands.”</p>
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